You’ve probably seen it. A grainy, washed-out image of a sea monster that looks like it belongs in a 1950s B-movie. Sometimes it's a giant mass of tentacles sprawled across a beach in California, or maybe a shadowy shape looming under a Russian fishing boat. Most of the time, when you click on a pic of colossal squid, you're looking at a clever Photoshop job or a misinterpreted whale carcass.
It’s frustrating.
The real Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni is actually way more interesting than the fake stuff people share for clicks. We aren't talking about the Giant Squid (Architeuthis dux), which is long and spindly. We are talking about the "heavyweight champion" of the deep. A creature that lives in the freezing, lightless waters surrounding Antarctica and looks like a bloated, terrifying torpedo armed with rotating meat hooks.
Seriously. Meat hooks.
Why the most famous colossal squid photo is actually a museum piece
If you want to see the most definitive, scientifically accurate pic of colossal squid, you have to look at the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum in New Zealand. Back in 2007, a fishing crew on the San Aspiring was longlining for Patagonian toothfish in the Ross Sea. They pulled up something that wasn't a fish. It was a massive, 495-kilogram (nearly 1,100 pounds) female colossal squid.
It was huge.
The photos from that day are legendary because they are some of the only high-quality images of a specimen that isn't half-digested or shredded by predators. In the raw shots, the animal looks like a massive, gelatinous bag of reddish-pink flesh. It isn't "majestic" in a traditional sense. It looks alien. Honestly, it looks like something that shouldn't be able to exist under the crushing pressure of the Southern Ocean, yet it does.
The museum later did a live "thaw" and dissection that was streamed to millions. That event produced a whole library of imagery that still circulates today. If the photo you’re looking at shows a squid being measured by guys in lab coats or floating in a giant tank of blue liquid, that’s the Te Papa specimen. It’s the gold standard.
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What you’re actually seeing in these photos
When you look at a genuine pic of colossal squid, you need to ignore the length and look at the "bulk." Giant squids are longer because of their two incredibly thin feeding tentacles, but the colossal squid is built like a tank. It has a much wider, thicker mantle (the main body).
Then there are the eyes.
Imagine a soccer ball. Now imagine that ball is an eye. In some of the close-up photos of the 2007 specimen, you can see the remains of the largest eyes in the animal kingdom. They are roughly 27 to 30 centimeters across. Evolution gave them these massive headlights specifically to detect the faint bioluminescent wake of their only real enemy: the Sperm Whale.
The rotating hooks (The stuff of nightmares)
One specific detail that often gets lost in low-resolution photos is the weaponry. Most squids have suckers with tiny teeth. Not this one. The colossal squid has evolved swivel-hooks on its club-like tentacles. These aren't just sharp points; they can actually rotate 360 degrees.
If you find a high-res pic of colossal squid tentacles, zoom in. You’ll see these terrifying, curved claws designed to sink into the skin of a whale or a large fish and never let go. It’s a brutal, efficient way to hunt in a place where calories are hard to come by and every meal counts.
Spotting the fakes and the "Mega-Squid" hoaxes
We have to talk about the misinformation. There is a very famous image that goes viral every few months showing a "160-foot squid" on a beach in Santa Monica. It’s fake. It was created by a satirical website using a photo of a dead whale and some very basic cloning tools.
Real colossal squids don't wash up on sunny California beaches.
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They are physiologically tied to the cold. Their blood (which is blue, thanks to copper-based hemocyanin) doesn't transport oxygen well in warm water. If a colossal squid ever drifted into the tropics, it would basically suffocate. So, if the pic of colossal squid you are looking at shows palm trees or people in bikinis, you can bet your life it’s a hoax.
Another common "fake" is actually just a different animal. Often, people post photos of the "Oarfish"—a long, silver, ribbon-like fish—and claim it's a baby sea serpent or a squid tentacle. It’s not. It’s just a weird fish.
The struggle of deep-sea photography
Why are there so few good pictures?
It’s basically an engineering nightmare. We are talking about depths of 2,000 to 4,000 meters. The pressure is immense. Most of our footage comes from ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) or accidental captures by deep-sea trawlers. Capturing a pic of colossal squid in its natural habitat is the "Holy Grail" for marine biologists.
We have some grainy footage from 2014 and a few glimpses from Dr. Kat Bolstad’s research team, but we still haven't seen a fully grown adult hunting in the wild. Most of what we know is "reconstructive." We find their beaks in the stomachs of whales. We see the scars they leave on the heads of Sperm Whales—circular marks often accompanied by deep gashes from those rotating hooks.
That’s how we know they fight back.
Examining the anatomy in photos
If you're looking at a legitimate photo, here is what to check for:
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- The Fins: Colossal squids have huge, broad, heart-shaped fins at the end of their mantle. They use these for slow, rhythmic swimming, not high-speed chases.
- The Beak: If the photo shows a black, parrot-like beak, it's likely real. These beaks are incredibly tough and are often the only part of the squid that doesn't dissolve in a whale's stomach.
- The Color: They aren't bright white. In life, they are a deep, bruised reddish-pink or maroon. After they die and are brought to the surface, they often lose this pigment and turn a ghostly greyish-white.
What we still don't know
Honestly, we’re still guessing about a lot. Some scientists, like those working with the SeaLegacy or MBARI groups, suggest that the colossal squid might be a "sit-and-wait" predator. Instead of swimming around looking for food, it might just hang in the water column, looking like a piece of debris, until a fish swims too close. Then? Bam. Hooks.
The lack of a clear, high-definition pic of colossal squid hunting in the wild means we don't know for sure how they use those fins. Are they agile? Or are they just drifting blobs of muscle? Most evidence points to them being metabolic "low-riders," conserving energy in the freezing cold.
How to find the real images
If you want to satisfy your curiosity without being fooled by AI-generated garbage, stick to reputable sources. Search for the "Te Papa colossal squid" archives. Check the National Geographic image database or the Smithsonian Ocean Portal.
Don't trust anything on TikTok that has "creepy" music and a "Top 10 Monsters" caption.
The reality of the Southern Ocean is far more terrifying and fascinating than anything a guy with a copy of Photoshop can dream up. The fact that a half-ton predator with soccer-ball eyes and limb-ripping hooks is drifting through the dark right now, thousands of miles from the nearest human, is plenty enough for most of us.
Verifying your sources and next steps
When you come across a new pic of colossal squid online, your first move should be a reverse image search. Tools like TinEye or Google Lens will usually lead you back to the original source. If the source is a scientific paper or a government fishery agency, it’s the real deal. If it’s a "paranormal" blog, stay skeptical.
To see the real thing in person, the Te Papa Museum in Wellington, New Zealand, remains the only place on Earth where you can stand inches away from a preserved specimen. It’s a sobering reminder of how little we actually know about the 70% of our planet covered by water.
Check for the following markers to confirm a squid's identity in any photo you find:
- Verify the location: It must be from the Southern Ocean/Antarctic regions.
- Look for the hooks: Giant squids have suckers; Colossal squids have hooks.
- Check the mantle: A "football" shape indicates a Colossal; a "cigar" shape indicates a Giant Squid.
- Examine the fins: Massive, terminal fins that take up much of the rear body are a dead giveaway for M. hamiltoni.
Keep your eyes on deep-sea exploration news from 2026 and beyond. With the advancement of low-light camera technology and autonomous underwater drones, we are closer than ever to finally getting a clear, high-definition look at this beast in its own home. Until then, treat every "monster" photo with a healthy dose of doubt.