Tassie squid 'one of the biggest'
July 11, 2007

A GIANT squid washed up dead on Tasmania's west coast is one of the biggest ever found, weighing in at 250 kilograms, with a cross-section as big as a truck tyre and longer than a station wagon. Scientists, who see it as an exciting and intriguing discovery, will take DNA and tissue samples from the sea monster before transporting it to Hobart for a post-mortem examination. Tasmanian Museum curator David Pemberton said the eight-metre long Archotheuthis is one of the biggest ever discovered. The museum's senior curator of invertebrate zoology, Genefor Walker-Smith, is heading a team of experts investigating the discovery at Ocean Beach, near Strahan. "It is a whopper,'' Ms Walker-Smith said while en route to the scene today. "The main mantle of the squid is about one metre across and its total length is about eight metres. "It's a very exciting discovery and we will be carrying out a number of tissue tests and take pictures and measurements on the animal today.''

CFZ credit: Ruby Lang