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13[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1815_collosal_polypus_octopus_and_ship_paul_d_stewart.jpg]]
14[[caption-width-right:350:Squid, octopus, whatever... it wants to eat you.]]
15
16->''"...Just so you understand exactly what it is you're dealing with: besides its eight huge tentacles, this thing has two whips. Each one is probably as long as this room and three or four feet thick. Those whips are covered with suction cups as big as this notepad. In the center of each cup is a claw as big as my fist and razor-sharp. The squid grabs and impales its prey with those whips and drags it towards its beak, shredding the flesh as it goes, and these things can shred a one-hundred-pound tuna in five seconds. Its beak is like an eagle's, only it's about fifty times bigger and can bite through steel. Now, you make a mistake trying to kill this thing, and it gets you first... you pray to God those whips kill you before you get to that beak."''
17-->-- '''Whip Dalton''', ''Film/TheBeast''
18
19Aside from being a plentiful source of low grade calamari [[note]] ''Extremely'' low-grade; they use ammonia to help them stay afloat, and ammonia is ''definitely'' not good eats in most parts of the world.[[/note]], Giant Squid are just as appetizingly useful for their role as {{Sea Monster}}s roaming the deep, attacking boats full of ''Film/CutthroatIsland'' extras and being an all round menace to the high seas.
20
21As a real life species, giant squid are believed to have inspired Norse tales of the Kraken and as one of TheOldestOnesInTheBook had a lot of overlap with the epic KrakenAndLeviathan. After Jules Vernes's ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'', the Giant Squid became a much more of a monster in the vein of any other "Gigantic Animal" monster: much more explicitly a larger version of something already known, scientifically unstudied but explainable and belonging to a realm not yet fully discovered, in this case, the depths of the sea.
22
23Being mostly tentacle, the Giant Squid has a variety of ways in which it may be depicted on screen. You might see [[AttackOfTheMonsterAppendage only the tentacles]], perhaps the top of the head occasionally peaks out of the water. A full body shot may be a climatic reveal and seeing the beaked mouth may be reserved for the death scene of some poor sucker being slowly dragged into it. Very often the tentacles almost seem to act as their own monster following the principle of only taking what is on screen as being real.
24
25Authors, designers and illustrators not always being sticklers for accuracy, the trope Giant Squid includes giant octopuses and giant-sea-creatures-that-are-some-weird-hybrid-of-squids-and-octopuses, as well.
26
27Subtrope of SeaMonster and TentacledTerror. See also GiantEnemyCrab. The ''really'' big ones may also qualify as {{Kaiju}}.
28
29----
30!!Examples:
31
32[[foldercontrol]]
33
34[[folder:Advertising]]
35* In 2005 the UK Independence Party or UKIP, a Euro Sceptic party, [[ScareCampaign decided to portray]] the EU as a Giant Blue Octopus [[{{Kaiju}} attacking London]] with CombatTentacles in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgfQwhKkVR8 this]] Party Political Broadcast.
36[[/folder]]
37
38[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
39* ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}''
40** ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheCastleOfTheUnderseaDevil'', an adventure taking place underwater, had the gang being menaced by a giant squid who destroys their underwater bunker and later tried sticking a tentacle through the windows.
41** ''Anime/DoraemonGreatAdventureInTheAntarcticKachiKochi'' has Octogon, an ancient, tentacled monster in the ruins of Hyuga Hyuga that attacks the gang when they arrive.
42* ''Manga/SazanEyes'': Elder Pael resembles a colossal squid the size of an airplane, with an incredibly elongated body and a prawn-like head. Justified, since Hyoma like himself can take mix-and-match forms thanks to their ability to merge and assimilate other creatures.
43* ''Manga/DragonBall'': During the Red Ribbon arc, General Blue swaps an arrow signal inside the pirate cave so that Goku ends up falling into a small grotto containing a giant, hungry octopus (who feels insulted when called a squid). The beast then tries to smash and eat Goku. Unfortunately for him, Goku fries him with a Kamehameha and eat some of his tentacles to regain strength.
44* Byro's trump card in ''Manga/FairyTail'' is a potion that [[OneWingedAngel turns him]] into a {{Kaiju}} sized one, albeit with [[ArtisticLicenseBiology suckers on the outside of the tentacles]].
45* ''Manga/OnePiece'', being set in a world covered mostly by oceans, has the Strawhats encountering a Giant Squid early on in the stomach of a colossal whale. Later on they also encounter [[KrakenAndLeviathan a Kraken]], which is a gigantic orange octopus with several tentacles.
46* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', a mutated giant squid emerges from a river in [[MisplacedWildlife the Amazon]] to attack the heroes. It was apparently artificially modified by Arachne's magic to turn gigantic, ferocious and [[AntiMagic immune to sorcery]].
47* Among the various creatures in ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'', we have the massive Megaoctopus (a beast seemingly composed of nothing but tentacles) and other squid and/or octopus-like beasties, ending up with one of the Gourmet World's strongest residents, the Yamatako {{Orochi}}, a truly colossal monster with a LampreyMouth and hydra-like tentacles tipped with living heads. There's also the King of the World of Souls, who's a Giant Squid man named "King Enma Squid".
48* ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}'': The revived monk Seikai Miyoshi transforms into a giant red octopus to fight (a pun on the fact that monks, due to their shaved heads, are often called "octopi"). Later in the story, [[MoonRabbit Shingetsu]] merges himself with a giant squid, gaining CombatTentacles with a HealingFactor and the ability to spit ink.
49[[/folder]]
50
51[[folder:Comic Books]]
52* ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'': In her first appearance, the Marine Marauder uses a giant octopus to attack and ocean liner and drag Looker down to her undersea lair.
53* The [[FrancoBelgianComics Franco-Belgian Comic]] series ''ComicBook/LesPetitsHommes'' features, during an escapade to {{Atlantis}}, a pair of squids attacking belligerent Atlantean and fishmen. Not ''giant'' squids per se, but for those {{Lilliputians}} they're quite the same thing.
54* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'': One arc centered around the sole survivor of one of Frank's raids. The guy had taken a bullet in the head a few years before and was never the same afterwards, having developed an obsession with Giant Squid (sorry, Architeuthis) and spending his free time scuba-diving the waters of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity looking for one (yes, in the actual harbor. Even the other mafiosi know nothing about marine biology and can see the flaw in his reasoning). He's haunted by the ghosts of his fellow criminals who demand he avenge them, and very nearly manages it by luring Frank into a warehouse gunfight and blowing it up. He holds Frank at gunpoint on the docks and would have killed him... if it wasn't for an actual Giant Squid grabbing and eating him.
55* ''ComicBook/SupermanSupergirlMaelstrom'': As exploring the mountains of an alien world, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} runs into a flying alien squid. Its green body is several times larger than her, thorns protrude from its long tentacles, and unlike Earth cephalopods, its mouth has several rows of sharp teeth instead of a beak.
56[[/folder]]
57
58[[folder:Comic Strips]]
59* Occasionally showed up on ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'', usually in the role of the traditional household pet. Somehow, they never seemed to need water.
60** One shows a giant squid and a dog curled up together sleeping. Their owner tells his friend that "in the wild, they'd be enemies, but they do just fine if you get them as pups".
61** Another sees a man visiting his friend's house and appearing quite nervous at the giant squid eyeballing him. His friend tells him to remain calm as giant squids can sense fear.
62** In yet another strip, a woman is frantically calling an exterminator while a giant squid is eating her husband in the background. The exterminator's office ("Harry's Squid-Be-Gone") is empty, with a sign on the door that says "Back in a jiffy".
63* ComicStrip/{{Lio}} has one as a pet, and it likewise seems to do fine out of the water.
64* In one story of ''ComicStrip/PrinceValiant'', the eponymous hero is trapped above a large, deep pool with an enormous octopus at the bottom trying to reach him. In another story, he is at sea with a small crew in a boat and is attacked by a giant squid.
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
68* ''Animation/BoBoiBoyTheMovie'': When [[BilingualBonus Kurita]] falls into the ocean, the contact with water enlarges the space squid into a giant MechanicalAbomination of a cephalopod that tries to kill everyone, but [[FoodBasedSuperpowers Gopal]] takes it down by [[{{Transmutation}} turning the giant Kurita into calamari]].
69* ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'': Dory, Marlin and Nemo have a brief encounter with a giant squid hiding in a shipwreck.
70* ''WesternAnimation/FireAndIce1983'': While swimming with Teegra, Larn is grabbed by some sort of giant freshwater cephalopod that tries to eat him.
71* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'': Ursula is already a rather large octopus lady, but this trope is truly {{invoked|trope}} in the climax, when she [[MakeMyMonsterGrow grows enormous]]. When she dies, the way her tentacles clutch the wrecked ship while flailing looks a lot like old drawings of giant squids attacking ships.
72* ''WesternAnimation/ThePagemaster'': When Richard is reluctant to climb a ladder due to his fear of heights, Adventure ''coaxes'' him into going up by opening ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'' to the passage on the squid attack, releasing it.
73* ''WesternAnimation/ReturnToNeverLand'', the sequel to ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'', replaces the tick-tocking crocodile with a giant orange octopus that makes popping noises with his tentacles.
74* ''WesternAnimation/RugratsGoWild'': Angelica attempts to scare the babies into thinking a giant squid might eat them, though Susie says otherwise. [[spoiler:An actual giant squid appears later on, though unlike most examples it turns out to be a GentleGiant ([[ShownTheirWork just like the real animal]]).]]
75* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'': Kup and Hot Rod are attacked by a giant ''robotic'' squid, which is part of the underwater MechanicalLifeforms of the planet Quintessa.
76[[/folder]]
77
78[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
79* The Walt Disney version of ''Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'' prominently features a giant squid that Ned Land (Kirk Douglas) goes against mano a mano (a mano, a mano, a mano...) with a harpoon.
80%%* ''Film/BeneathThe12MileReef'' has a giant human attacking octopus. %% As in, a giant human who attacks regular-sized octopus?
81* What are initially believed to be numerous worm-like creatures in ''Film/DeepRising'' that infested the ship and consumed the entire crew and its passengers actually turn out to be the tentacles of an extremely large squid-like monster at the end.
82* In ''Film/HighSpirits'', a haunted mural in the hotel becomes animated, and a giant squid appears to torment the guests. The child actor in the scene even says, verbatim: 'It's a giant squid!' before being snatched by the creature.
83* ''Film/InventionForDestruction'': While inspecting the broken cable on the seafloor, Hart and his party are attacked by a giant octopus. The octopus kills the two pirates assigned to guard Hart, allowing him to sneak away to the tunnel.
84* In ''Film/ItCameFromBeneathTheSea'', there is a giant radioactive octopus which features as the main threat.
85* ''Film/KingKongVsGodzilla'', ''Film/WarOfTheGargantuas'', and ''Film/FrankensteinConquersTheWorld'' all featured a giant octopus that fights Kong, Gaira, and Frankenstein respectively.
86* ''Film/KongSkullIsland'': There's a short scene where King Kong fights an enormous cephalopod called a Mire Squid as a MythologyGag to the giant octopus from ''King Kong vs. Godzilla'' mentioned above.
87* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing'', the Watcher in the Water is decidedly squid-like, with bits of octopus thrown in for good measure. In the books the description is a bit more vague but still retains most of the Giant Squid properties.
88* A giant octopus is one of the creatures that the crew faces on the eponymous ''Film/TheLostContinent''.
89* ''Film/TheMeg''. Suyin's minisub gets trapped in the tentacles of a giant squid and is on the verge of being crushed when the eponymous [[AlwaysABiggerFish megalodon eats it]].
90* ''Film/MegaSharkVsGiantOctopus''. Changing it to an Octopus was the closest to originality the film got.
91* Creator/RogerCorman's first film was ''Film/MonsterFromTheOceanFloor'', and featured a female marine biologist vindictively hunting a giant squid.
92* ''Film/MonsterSeaFoodWars'', a kaiju spoof, sees a giant squid and octopus among a trio of monsters attacking Tokyo.
93* ''Film/MysteriousIsland'' features what appears to be either a giant nautilus or ammonite which attacks the castaways when they're exploring the sunken pirate ship.
94* The 2000 film ''Film/{{Octopus}}'' features a submarine facing off with a gigantic, mutated octopus deep under the ocean. The sequel, ''Film/Octopus2RiverOfFear'', has the NYPD having to deal with a equally gigantic octopus that has made its home in New York Harbor.
95* The Kraken from ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean''. Though far bigger than any real squid (thereby really earning its Kraken title).
96* ''Film/ReapTheWildWind'' featured Creator/JohnWayne fighting and being killed by a rather silly-looking (but technologically impressive for the time) giant squid. It was made several years after ''Film/WakeOfTheRedWitch'' (see below). Perhaps the squid was avenging its cephalopod brother?
97* The ''Film/RoadToBali'' features a giant squid named Boga Ten.
98* In ''Film/SirArthurConanDoylesSherlockHolmes'', the BigBad uses a SteamPunk mechanical giant octopus to drag down a treasure ship so he can loot it to fund his EvilScheme.
99* Gezora from the 1970 Toho film, ''Film/SpaceAmoeba'', although he's technically a cuttlefish {{Kaiju}}. He's also tussled with Godzilla in some comics and video games despite never appearing in any movies with him.
100* ''Franchise/StarWars'': The Dianoga in ''Film/ANewHope'' is definitely this. Some people InUniverse even call it "Trash Giant Squid".
101* Italian movie ''Film/{{Tentacoli}}'' features a giant octopus that was stirred up by an underwater tunnelling project, and developed a taste for humans.
102* ''Film/VoyageToTheBottomOfTheSea'' has a gigantic octopus in it which attacks the ''Seaview''. Also, an actual giant squid earlier attacked the divers repairing the transatlantic phone line on the ocean bottom.
103* ''Film/WakeOfTheRedWitch'', a black-and-white movie based on the novel ''Toilers of the Sea'', featured Creator/JohnWayne wrestling with and killing a giant octopus that had carried off a native diver minutes before.
104[[/folder]]
105
106[[folder:Literature]]
107* To be elaborate on ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'', the crew of the ''Nautilus'' (and Ned Land) fight a school of giant squids after one squid wraps itself around the submarine and stops it in its tracks. It is the most recognizable element in the story -- after Nemo and the ''Nautilus'' themselves -- and is a standard fixture in any adaptation. It should be noted, however: some translations are a bit more ambiguous about the monsters' exact species, instead referring to them as "poulp" (an archaic term for cephalopods in general).
108* In Pat Murphy's ''Literature/AdventuresInSpaceAndTimeWithMaxMerriwell'', [[spoiler:Weldon Merrimax is killed]] by a giant squid.
109* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': Seen as the cover morph in the twenty-seventh book, ''The Exposed''. Rachel's shown as the morpher, but the whole team morphs squids in the book, having first morphed sperm whales to find the titular exposed Pemalite ship and the squids to reach the ship.
110* Literature/ArtemisFowl is attacked by a giant squid in ''The Atlantis Complex''.
111* Creator/PeterBenchley's ''Literature/{{Beast}}'', later adapted into a film starring William Peterson called ''Film/TheBeast'', could roughly be described as ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' with a Giant Squid (especially since Benchley wrote ''Literature/{{Jaws}}'') with the giant squid attacking boats after foolish mankind overfished its normal prey and accidentally killed its young. Mankind's hubris concerning nature leads to him getting attacked by a wild creature? Naaaawh!
112* At the start of ''Strands of Sorrow'', part of the ''Literature/BlackTideRising'' series, a Naval scout visits the San Diego harbor after the ZombieApocalypse has been raging for several months. The masses of {{Technically Living Zombie}}s have resulted in the bay's waters becoming infested not only with sharks, but also with Humboldt Squid, which are voraciously feeding on the masses of infected humans. The sight actually unnerves the watching Navymen, and one member who happens to have lived in the area notes that the beaches of Southern California may not be safe to swim in for the rest of his lifetime at the earliest, as Humboldt Squid are aggressive, intelligent predators who may even be capable of social learning.
113* ''Literature/DrNo'': The titular character puts Literature/JamesBond through a torture labyrinth ending with an apparent escape only to be attacked by a giant squid. Improbably, Bond wins.
114* ''Literature/TheFutureIsWild'':
115** 200 million years after humanity has gone extinct, the oceans have become home to the enormous 25-meter Rainbow Squid (other sources in the franchise say they grow up to over 40-50 m in length). However, despite being carnivorous they are actually [[GentleGiant gentle giants]] that use their incredible color changing abilities for dazzling courtship displays and to hide whenever predators are nearby, even if said predators are significantly smaller than it.
116** Much smaller but still quite sizeable itself is the rainbow squid's ''[[TerrestrialSeaLife land-dwelling]]'' contemporary, the megasquid, larger than modern-day elephants and has evolved to have elephant-like traits and lifestyle.
117* In Creator/ArthurCClarke's ''Literature/GhostOfTheGrandBanks'', deep-sea diver Jason Bradley became world famous after he was hired to investigate an oil-rig dive crewman's report that a 100-meter octopus had taken up occupancy among the rig's seabed buttresses. [[spoiler:The gargantuan octopus fled immediately when Bradley approached in his lighted hardshell diving suit.]]
118* The giant squid from ''Literature/HarryPotter'' is a rare benevolent example. Living in the lake near Hogwarts, this giant squid is a friendly docile creature who likes to play with the students, since Fred and George were seen tickling its tentacles, accepts food from them and even saved one first year student who fell into the water. Writer J.K. Rowling joked that this particular giant squid is actually the [[{{Animorphism}} Animagus form]] of Godric Gryffindor, one of the legendary founders of Hogwarts, still watching over Hogwarts to this day.
119* ''Literature/{{Kraken}}'' kicks off with the impossible theft of the preserved giant squid on display in London's Natural History Museum (nicknamed [[http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/archie-giant-squid Archie]]). Turns out there is a cult that worships giant squids as gods and offspring of the almighty Kraken, and by the novel's internal logic, the fact that the squid commands such faith means that ''is'' actually an extremely powerful entity, even in death.
120* The similarly named Spanish novel ''Literature/KrakenAtrapadosEnElAbismo'', by Luis Miguel Ariza, features an agressive yet surprisingly intelligent giant squid species.
121* The Watcher of the Water which guards the gates of Moria in Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
122* ''Literature/MermaidsSong'': While searching for effron, Elan is attacked by a giant squid who drags her to his lair. She [[MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast sings to him]], causing him to relax and release her. The squid, amazed to hear a Merra singing that song for the first time in centuries, teaches Elan to [[{{Telepathy}} cross-speak]]. He becomes her friend and teacher, and helps her train for the Choosing.
123* The narrator of ''Literature/MobyDick'' has an encounter with a giant squid:
124-->''Almost forgetting for the moment all thoughts of Moby Dick, we now gazed at the most wondrous phenomenon which the secret seas have hitherto revealed to mankind. A vast pulpy mass, furlongs in length and breadth, of a glancing cream-color, lay floating on the water, innumerable long arms radiating from its centre, and curling and twisting like a nest of anacondas, as if blindly to clutch at any hapless object within reach. No perceptible face or front did it have; no conceivable token of either sensation or instinct; but undulated there on the billows, an unearthly, formless, chance-like apparition of life.''
125-->''As with a low sucking sound it slowly disappeared again, Starbuck still gazing at the agitated waters where it had sunk, with a wild voice exclaimed -- "Almost rather had I seen Moby Dick and fought him, than to have seen thee, thou white ghost!"''
126* ''Literature/PirateLatitudes'' features two encounters with what is presumably a giant squid, which the characters call a "Kraken". The first one doesn't do much and is quickly forgotten. The second one is strangely aggressive, grabbing crew members and flinging them overboard. It also, for some reason, has bioluminescence.
127* ''Literature/{{Sphere}}'' features a giant squid as a manifestation of a character's mind.
128* In ''Literature/SkinOfTheSea'', the Omniran is a giant squid who was banished to the bottom of the ocean after hunting too many creatures. Now he serves Olokun, an orisa who was also banished for creating tidal waves to kill humans. When [[spoiler:the Mami Wata break Esu out of Olokun's prison]], Olokun and the Omniran battle with them to try to stop them.
129* In ''Literature/StarlightAndShadows'', the pirate ship ''Elfmaid'' is attacked by a giant squid, which protagonists Liriel and Fyodor manage to slay.
130* ''Literature/TalesFromTheWhiteHart'': "Big Game Hunt" describes the efforts of an eccentric professor to study the electrical circuitry of the brain. After using his research to develop robotic creatures, he then tries to use electrical stimulation of the brain to control the behavior of animals. The professor's work is discovered by a wildlife photographer, who tries to exploit it to film a giant squid. While their attempt is initially successful, the equipment blows a fuse, and the squid kills both scientist and photographer.
131* In the ''Literature/Tempest2011'' trilogy, [[BigBad Tiamat]]'s minions include two of these.
132** The Lusca is a giant blood-drinking octopus-like monster with twenty-three tentacles.
133** In ''Tempest Revealed'', Tempest and her dad are attacked while surfing by Turisas, an octopus monster three stories high. Tempest barely manages to fight it off and swim to safety with her dad.
134* ''Literature/TestimonyBeforeAnEmergencySessionOfTheNavalCephalopodCommand'' by Seth Dickinson has a scientist explaining to the eponymous Command why a giant squid--trained and enhanced to detect Soviet nuclear subs--has gone OffTheRails and is trying to start WorldWarThree. He points out that the Navy treating a giant squid like Series/{{Flipper}} when it's actually a solipsistic psychopath is a bad idea.
135* ''Literature/WayOfTheTiger'':
136** Book 4 has a Kraken guarding the tract of sea around the island where the magical Scepter and Orb of Irnsmuncast are kept. While it doesn't look anything different from a run of the mill giant squid, the lore mentions that's a foul creature of Nullaq, evil goddess of envy and poison, thus can be pacified with an amuler of her cult.
137** The last book has a series of massive, grotesque squid-like horrors used as living cages for the Keeper of the Forbidden Shrine, once again related to Nullaq.
138[[/folder]]
139
140[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
141* A really, really Giant Squid is worshipped as a god on a planet where the Doctor and Romana seek the Key to Time in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E5ThePowerOfKroll The Power of Kroll]]".
142* One of these attacks the research vessel Alton is cooking on in the squid episode of ''Series/GoodEats.''
143* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': Squid Ink acts as a recurring magical item used to temporarily freeze the user's target in place. In Season 3, Gold and Baelfire summon and kill a giant squid in Neverland to take it's ink for this specific purpose. Season 6 also introduces [[KrakenAndLeviathan krakens]] as a similar but much more aggressive and menacing creature, almost looking like mutant giant squids.
144* One episode of ''Series/TheSeanCullenShow'' had a giant squid take over Sean's basement. It eventually kidnapped William Shatner and fell through a wormhole. Sean sang about it.
145* ''Franchise/UltraSeries'':
146** In the ''Series/UltraQ'' episode "Fury of the South Seas", the characters visit a South Pacific Island where the locals worship a gargantuan octopus called Sudar and try to appease it with human sacrifice. Notably, it was brought to life using the Giant Octopus puppet from ''Film/KingKongVsGodzilla'', ''Film/FrankensteinConquersTheWorld'', and ''Film/WarOfTheGargantuas''.
147** On ''Series/UltraSeven'', the mysterious {{Ultraterrestrials}} known as the Nonmalts attack humanity's ships and subs using a squid-like kaiju called Guyros, who is ultimately chopped up into calamari by Ultraseven.
148** ''Series/UltramanTaro'' and ''Series/UltramanEighty'' both featured cephalopod kaiju in bit roles. The former series' monster was Tagarl, who battled the GiantEnemyCrab Ganza, while the latter series had Daron, a minion of Gimyra who teamed up with Raburas to fight 80 in one battle scene.
149[[/folder]]
150
151[[folder:Music]]
152* Alestorm's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TKyNTwD3Yk Death Throes of the Terrorsquid]]" is a song about... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Pirates killing the terrorsquid.]]
153* The Music/JonathanCoulton song "I Crush Everything" is sung from the perspective of a giant squid. It suffers from extreme loneliness, because (as the title hints) it can't touch anything without dragging it down to the bottom of the sea and destroying it. And it ''really'' hates dolphins. So, ''sad'' cephalopod.
154* The Dreadnoughts' "Mary the One-Eyed Prostitute, Who Fought the Colossal Squid and Saved Us From Certain Death on the High Seas, God Rest Her One-Eyed Soul" is pretty Administrivia/SelfExplanatory.
155* Music/TheyMightBeGiants:
156** The cover for their album ''Apollo 18'' features a giant squid locked in battle with a sperm whale.
157** The music video for “With The Dark” features a similar squid that attacks the Johns.
158[[/folder]]
159
160[[folder:Myth]]
161* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusca Lusca]] is believed to be a giant octopus somewhere in the Bahamas.
162[[/folder]]
163
164[[folder:Pinballs]]
165* In ''VideoGame/ProPinballFantasticJourney'', the player must fight off a Giant Octopus as part of the Submarine Adventure.
166[[/folder]]
167
168[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
169* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
170** Perfectly mundane giant squid and giant octopus have been statted in multiple editions, where they're treated as just regular animals. In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition'', this qualifies them for a number of creature templates, which can make them far closer to the spirit of this trope. In particular, fiendish giant cephalopods (and the more powerful half-fiend versions) are true monsters, having at least human-level intellects and the personality of nihilistic sadists; they tend to be common threats in the aquatic regions of the Abyss.
171** Dagon, [[DemonLordsAndArchDevils Demon Prince of Water]], is generally described as an AnimalisticAbomination resembling a {{Kaiju}}-sized amalgam of squid, shark and eel. He is usually characterized as one of the most ancient, intelligent and patient of the Demon Lords.
172** One of the more consistent examples in the D&D setting are the krakens, which resemble enormous squids, but have genius-level intellects, potent sorcerous abilities, and a [[AGodAmI raging god complex]], which leads to them spinning elaborate plans of conquest and destruction. They are sometimes hinted to have originated on other planes, and often worship evil gods or DemonLordsAndArchDevils with a tie to water, such as Dagon. Weirdly, their depiction in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFifthEdition'' looks more like [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 Del Lago]] with tentacles.
173** The spin-off game ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' has the Devilfish; 10-12ft long cephalopods that resemble seven-armed vampire squids, said to have been created when the blood of Dagon mingled with the blood of a powerful kraken queen during a titanic fight to the death. They are ruthless, sadistic, and highly intelligent predators with a poisonous bite that use clouds of toxic blood in the same way lesser cephalopods use ink.
174** ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' is also home to the Lusca; [[MultipleHeadCase three-headed]] [[MixAndMatchCritters hybrids of shark and octopus]] bigger than battleships [[PoisonousPerson covered in toxic slime]] and able to [[ShockAndAwe hurl lightning bolts]].
175* ''TabletopGame/DystopianWars'': The Empire of the Blazing Sun have the Ika class Mechanical Squid -- a gigantic robotic squid large enough to grab and drag down the largest warships into the briny depths.
176* ''TabletopGame/HollowEarthExpedition''. Kraken are 100 foot long 40 ton squids powerful enough to capsize ships and eat their crews. They can also drag a ship deep underwater and let the pressure and lack of air do their dirty work for them.
177* ''It Came from the Late, Late Show''. A Giant Octopus Monster is 60 feet long. Its rampages include eating sunbathers and surfers and destroying coastal towns and bridges.
178* ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'' has Squidzilla as one of its monsters. As the name implies, it is huge.
179* The ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'' has the [[KrakenAndLeviathan Leviathan]], the Kerberos of the Sea of Fragments. It's actually only a guess that it's a cephalopod based on the fact that it has tentacles -- it's too huge for anyone to ever see what it really looks like.
180* ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'': One of the largest squid-like entities in the game is the Lord of the Deep. Nobody knows if it really is squidlike, as only its tentacles are ever seen -- its body is deep within the Mariana Trench. Said tentacles are several MILES long, and thick enough to pose a threat even to the ultratech battleships of rifts Earth.
181* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' sees your giant squid and raises you the Void Krakens, a species of space dwelling asteroid eaters that are in the same weight class as small warship. Keep in mind, ''40k'' warships start at 1km and only go up from there.
182[[/folder]]
183
184[[folder:Theme Parks]]
185* In ''Ride/PopeyeAndBlutosBilgeRatBarges'' at [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal's Islands of Adventure]], the guests have a run-in with giant octopus when their raft enters a dark cave.
186* The now-closed Submarine Voyage rides at the Disney parks included an appearance by a giant squid. In the Disneyland version, the squid was fighting a sperm whale, and in the Disney World version it was attacking another submarine while another tried to attack yours as well.
187* ''Ride/LostIslandThemePark'''s take on the classic Dumbo style spinner, ''Eeki Eeki Escape'', has guests riding fish in the clutches of a giant eeki eeki squid's tentacles.
188[[/folder]]
189
190[[folder:Toys]]
191* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'': Kalmah commanded an army of giant squids while he lived in the Pit. Ever since he got turned back into an air-breather, they probably don't follow him anymore.
192[[/folder]]
193
194[[folder:Video Games]]
195* ''VideoGame/ArkSurvivalEvolved'' has the Tusoteuthis, a 30 foot long squid loosely based on the real prehistoric creature [[note]] The real animal was an octopus, not a squid[[/note]]. It can grab prey (including players and various other giant sea predators) and crush them to death, inflincting torpor which can cause the creature to lose consciousness, while [[LifeDrain regaining health by drinking their blood]]. If you manage to start doing serious damage to one, it will spray a blinding ink cloud and flee. There's also an Alpha version which is even bigger, being the largest alpha creature on the island. Pretty impressive given it has [[DeathWorld serious competition]]. Fortunately, both the common and Alpha varieties are only found deep in the ocean and will not come to the surface unless tamed, so one can avoid them easily enough.
196* The ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series:
197** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'': Ezio goes searching for the Assassin Seals that unlock the Armor of Altair, he can come across what appears to be a giant squid twice in the same area. Once he pulls on a lever and watches the water, he can see the dark figure swim past menacingly. If he pulls the lever again and waits, the squid will use a tentacle to attack Ezio and fail. If Ezio falls into the water at any moment, however, the squid will not come to attack him at all.
198** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'': If Edward looks out a certain window at the Antocha wreck for a short while, a cinematic depicting a battle between a Giant Squid and a white whale would occur.
199* Even though it looks more like an octopus, Lusca from ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' probably counts. There's no way to gauge how big it is, since you can't see the whole thing, but the amount of tentacle that you can see looks to be around 30 feet or more.
200* In ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' and ''VideoGame/BioShock2'', a Giant Squid can be seen swimming through Rapture.
201* ''VideoGame/BigKarnak'' have a giant octopus as the boss of the second SlaveGalley stage. It's tethered to the back of the ship and attacks using COmbatTentacles; and when you sever it's tentacles it then throws them at you as a projectile attack.
202* ''VideoGame/ClubPenguin'' has the Giant Squid make minor shadowed appearances in the minigames Aqua Grabber and Puffle Rescue. The WebAnimation short "Captain Rockhopper vs. Mighty Squid" has Rockhopper fight off the Giant Squid.
203* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2'' the [[DirtyCommunists Wacky Soviets]] have ''giant squid that can drag enemy ships down to the briny depths''. Too bad they traded those in for war bears in [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 the third game]].
204* ''{{VideoGame/Conan}}'' has a boss battle against one of these.
205* ''VideoGame/CookieRun'' Squid Ink Cookie, a gold-eating cookie resembling a squid monster who grows to kaiju sizes and attacks ships.
206* In ''VideoGame/CryptOfTheNecrodancer'', the boss [[HurricaneOfPuns Coral Riff]] is a giant squid with a guitar's body for a head.
207* ''VideoGame/{{Tentacular}}'', an indie VR game, have you playing as an island-sized giant octopus exploring the seas. You're a GentleGiant and not some rampaging tentacled monstrosity (the norm for this trope) though.
208* Dr Peculiar defends himself with a giant mutant octopus in ''VideoGame/TheDeadlyTowerOfMonsters.''
209* The second ''VideoGame/DeathInTheWater'' sees you fighting giant octopuses regularly (compared to the first where your enemies are all sharks). The title refers to '''Death''', an ancient, submarine-sized gigantic octopus who's analogous to the kraken, and the difficult FinalBoss.
210* ''Franchise/DragonQuest'':
211** The King Squids, Squidzillas, and Tentactulars, first seen in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', are powerful monsters while out at sea with loads of HP, devastating tentacles, breaths, and rocking the boat.
212* One of ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin'''s more random enemies are giant [[strike:octopodes]] [[CallARabbitASmeerp Eight-Arms]]. There's plenty of pointy ammonites in {{Prehistoria}}, too. ''Defender of the Future'' features a few giant cephalopods that require puzzle solving to get past, as well, perhaps in homage to the original series that it [[ContinuityReboot otherwise doesn't have that much to do with]].
213* The ''VideoGame/EndlessOcean'' games both feature giant squid in their respective abyssal zones, the second of whom will periodically tangle with a sperm whale, including during the storyline. The second game also has the giant squid's baby, Kraken Jr., who's only a couple of feet long and [[UglyCute amazingly adorable]] for a squid.
214* ''VideoGame/EternityTheLastUnicorn'' has a swamp Krakken as a boss, who resembles a monstrous humboldt squid with ''spiked'' tentacles and a gigantic mouth with MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily.
215* ''VideoGame/ExtrapowerGiantFist'': The boss of the Milles City industrial area stage is a giant squid that attacks from the water and attacks with whatever arms are holding aloft TheMenInBlack enemies that were attacking throughout the past two stages. Rather than being a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere, it serves as a CallBack to the unearthed bracelet having a rampage effect on animals within its range. A clue that the players are getting closer to their objective.
216* ''[[VideoGame/Frenzy1998 Frenzy!]]'' have an underwater stage that concludes with your submarine battling a giant octopus mecha. Who lose tentacles as it takes damage until it's a single head, but it can continue attacking by lumbering towards you.
217* Story mission nine in ''VideoGame/JawsUnleashed'' opens with a fight against one.
218* In ''VideoGames/KidPixStudio'', there was a "Moopie" stamp of a blue squid. Although quite small normally, as with all stamps, it could be enlarged by pressing the control key, and further enlarged by pressing the shift key as well.
219* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
220** The Big Octo miniboss from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' and w''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' is a land-based variant.
221** The Big Octo from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''. It's a giant squid that is always preceded by a large flock of seagulls, and will try to suck in your boat if you go near said seagulls, at which point you must attack several places on its body with your boomerang.
222** The Big Octorok from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' is technically the same size as the small Octoroks you fight in the overworld, but it becomes this from Link's perspective after he is shrunk to Minish size.
223** While the incident happened in the past and isn't portrayed onscreen, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' has a stone tablet that describes how [[WarriorPrince Prince Sidon]] killed a giant Octorok that was terrorizing Hylian fishers.
224* ''VideoGame/TheLegendaryStarfy'' series:
225** ''VideoGame/DensetsuNoStafy3'' features Muga, a huge, eerie, [[{{Cyclops}} one-eyed]] squidlike creature who is the boss of the Sea of Sky. It follows Starfy with its eye and can fire beams from it directionally to attack, but swimming in circles around it will make it dizzy, leaving the eye open for a Star Spin attack.
226** Early in the fifth game, a big squid named [[ADogNamedDog Big Squiddy]] captures Bunston. You're chased after Big Squiddy in certain levels, and he's the game's first boss; you attack his tentacles when he's not about to grab you.
227* ''VideoGame/NavalOps'': The final OptionalBoss of ''Warship Gunner 2'' is a giant squid that can sink ships with a blast of high-pressure ink or lasers. But it's a giant, flattened and dried squid.
228* In ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', using the [[MakeMyMonsterGrow Dynamax]] feature on a cephalopod-like Pokémon will, obviously, produce this result.
229* ''Phix: the Adventure'' have a giant squid boss who can somehow move on land, and have crab pincers on the tips of tentacles.
230* ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}} 2'': One of the bosses is a huge, many-tentacled Kraken.
231* ''VideoGame/ShadowMaster'' have a robotic giant octopus as the boss of Planet Ocella, a water-themed world. Said boss have tentacles ending in [[DeadlyDisc circular buzzsaws]] which it uses to slice you apart.
232* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'': Squid Baron, [[BossSubtitles Reoccurring Rascal/Concerned Parent]]. Despite his name, he looks more like a giant octopus than a giant squid. He may not be large enough to drag down a ship, but he's still roughly twice the size of an average human.
233* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'': One of the optional ship battles is against a giant flying squid.
234* ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'': The giant pink squid thingy Krusher starts off as a boss fight before the Guru manages to talk it into temporarily joining you. You later control Crusher to defend Bentley by smashing pirates in a fashion in a scene that is best described as "Giant Squid Bongo with a Body Count".
235* ''VideoGame/{{SOMA}}'': The FinalBoss is this, even named as such by the research base's scientists. Being [[spoiler:heavily mutated by [[MutagenicGoo Structure Gel]]]], this creature patrols the [[EldritchOceanAbyss Abyss]] for prey, and after [[spoiler:eating Johann Ross alive]], it constantly stalks you along the way to station Phi, with only cramped rock tunnels for cover. If you're caught, the squid grabs you in its jaw and hauls you off in a random direction, often undoing your progress.
236* In the original ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon|1}}'', there's the Kraken special. Inklings are already humanoid creatures who can morph into roughly human-sized squids, but the "Kraken" special ability allows an Inkling to temporarily become a massive and virtually indestructible squid capable of destroying all it touches.
237* ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}'': The Crabsquid isn't that big in comparison to some of the other creatures but is still a few times larger than the average human. It's also highly aggressive and has both [[MixAndMatchCritters razor-sharp, crab-like talons]] that it uses to attack as well as a short range {{EMP}} that can disable any electronics in the area, including your vehicles.
238* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': Bosses of this sort are fairly common in the series and tend to be supersized version of Bloopers, a type of common squid enemies.
239** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'': One of the recurring enemies is the Gooper Blooper, a giant land squid that sprays toxic ink around itself. It later makes an appearance as a boss in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'', where it seems to have gotten into music, and ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'', where it attacked a cruise ship you need to rescue from its clutches.
240** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPGLegendOfTheSevenStars'': King Calamari is a giant squid that sank the pirate Jonathan Jones' ship and was locked in its treasure room. It's large enough for its body and tentacles to resolve as separate foes during its battle.
241** ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'': The Mega Blooper is a supersized variant of the standard Blooper. The [[VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor sequel]] has a similarly sized Blooper as the first real boss in the game, but lacks any manner of adjective on its name.
242** ''VideoGame/MarioParty9'': A giant Blooper appears in the boss minigame Blooper Barrage. It attacks from the ocean, and the players fight it by firing cannons at it from a pirate ship.
243** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioParty'': A Mega Blooper appears as a board hazard on Megafruit Paradise and Watermelon Walkabout, where it stalks players crossing the bridge between Present Island and Watermelon Island. In Mario Party mode, there are certain Event spaces on the bridge that trigger the Blooper's attack, while in Partner Party, every space on the bridge has a roughly 1/3 chance of activating it. Regardless, any players that get attacked by the Blooper will be sent flying back to start.
244* The ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' expansion ''Cataclysm'' has Ozumat, a creature working for the [[EldritchAbomination Old Gods]] and able to take on a PhysicalGod.
245* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'': Squoods are massive squid-like enemies that can be encountered while salvaging (Just about everywhere) or during fog. (In Tantal)
246* One level of ''VideoGame/ZackAndWikiQuestForBarbarosTreasure'' revolves around taking one down.
247[[/folder]]
248
249[[folder:Web Comics]]
250* ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'' has the first of the evil Disaster Masters, Squidmaster, who, rarely for this trope, is actually intelligent. Well, [[DumbMuscle sorta intelligent.]]
251* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'':
252** There's that one time in Paris when [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090320 someone had a scheme to raise giant squid in the sewers]].
253** And the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110325 mechanical squid in the cisterns]], because after all where ''else'' would you keep your mechanical squid?
254** ''And'' the giant ''winged'' squid [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110530 attacking Castle Wulfenbach]].
255* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': During [S] Jack: Ascend, Bro Strider is seen battling a giant octopus-like monster that lives in the lava seas of the Land of Heat and Clockwork.
256* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': To destroy Lord Hinjo's private ship, Redcloak summons a fiendish giant octopus. It is eventually defeated by a [[ThreateningShark shark]]-[[HorseOfADifferentColor mounted]] paladin.
257* ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo'': There's a [[KrakenAndLeviathan kraken]] [[spoiler:in the moat of the two vampire hipsters. And it [[BunnyEarsLawyer wears puppets on his tentacles.]]]]
258* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' includes a giant squid in the "Touch and Go" arc [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2006-01-22 that]] [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2006-02-05 turned out]] to not actually be [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2006-08-16 a squid]].
259[[/folder]]
260
261[[folder:Web Originals]]
262* Played with in the ''Website/SCPFoundation'' article [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-252 SCP-252]]. A normal-sized squid species that appears to have the ability to [[MakeMyMonsterGrow transform into a 50 to 75 meters long monstrosity]], but in truth is just a MasterOfIllusion that makes targets perceive it as more dangerous than it really is by hypnotizing them with its bio-luminescent organs.
263[[/folder]]
264
265[[folder:Western Animation]]
266* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': In "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS3E2ACreepFromTheDeep A Creep from the Deep]]", one of the ocean animals affected by Sly Sludge's waste dumping is a giant squid, which attacks a nearby town. The team has to summon Captain Planet to get rid of it. The same episode also involves a ShoutOut to the more famous ''Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea.''
267* In the ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' episode "Last of the Starmakers", the eponymous Starmakers are giant space squids that produce stars instead of ink.
268* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheDeep2015'', Fontaine and Antaeus end up being attacked by one. Soon, a whole bunch of them show up to attack the Nektons.
269* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', an episode had Timmy, Cosmo and Wanda visiting Atlantis, where their immediately arrested because [[PersonOfMassDestruction Cosmo was responsible for sinking the continent]]. Timmy, having [[Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} Wet Willie]] powers, attempts to summon a giant squid to help them, to which everyone laughs, thinking it doesn't exist. [[BrickJoke At the end of the episode]], the squid finally shows up and destroys Atlantis.
270* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. The Griffins' defense against it is ignoring it.
271* ''WesternAnimation/TheGarfieldShow'' had a giant squid terrorizing the city's sewers. And it likes donuts.
272* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Buford]] must conquer his fear of giant squid in order to save his friends and pet goldfish from one.
273** A later episode briefly shows him fighting the same squid for some seaweed.
274* ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' has a giant squid who is attracted to cheese.
275* Hedwig, the BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/SabansAdventuresOfTheLittleMermaid'', has an orange giant octopus as one of her minions.
276* ''WesternAnimation/SilverHawks'' BigBad Mon*Star's mount is an armored giant space squid named Sky-Runner.
277* ''WesternAnimation/SkullIsland2023'': {{Subverted}}. [[Characters/MonsterVerseSkullIslandKaijuAndOtherCreatures The Kraken]] ''seems'' like it's going to be a classical version of its namesake when we see it [[MonsterDelay solely]] by its octopoid CombatTentacles dragging ships, helicopters and people into the ocean, but its full appearance is actually more of a fish/lobster/octopus chimera.
278* In ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'' episode "It Came From Beneath the Sea Duck", a giant squid enters Cape Suzette's harbor when [[BumblingHenchmenDuo Mad Dog and Dumptruck]] cut a hole in the underwater safety net in order to sneak in. After tasting frosty pep ice cream, the squid develops a craving for it, causing mayhem in its search.
279* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', a giant black kralamoure is protecting Oma Island by destroying in its tentacles any ship coming too close. [[spoiler:It is in fact the form chosen by an ancient shapeshifting dragon.]]
280[[/folder]]
281
282[[folder:Real Life]]
283* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_squid giant squid]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_squid colossal squid]] do exist; the giant squid is longer and the colossal squid is bulkier. While a few stories circulate of boats being attacked by large squid, these creatures are mainly deep-water dwelling creatures, that mostly eat smaller prey. There have been reports of Giant Squid toothmarks on Sperm Whale skins which indicate that the two species regularly fight each other, but since Sperm Whales actively hunt them, these wounds may have been inflicted in self defense, and it is overall fairly likely that sperm whales and Pacific sleeper sharks (the main predators of mature individuals) are able to overpower them fairly easily under most circumstances.
284** There is only one verifiable story of a giant squid attacking a small boat (in this case a rowboat, not a ship), and even then the only reason it was verifiable was because the people attacked brought back proof--a tentacle that a young boy traveling with them chopped off of the animal, and the squid did not seek them out and only reacted aggressively to begin with because they rowed right up to it while it was surfaced and struck it with an oar, causing the (likely dying) squid to violently retaliate. In the rare instance a human interacts with a living giant squid these days, the massive cephalopods come off as {{Gentle Giant}}s. The few reliable accounts of aggressive behavior can likely be chalked up to startled (and possibly sick or starving) animals in an unfamiliar habitat (surfacing is not believed to be a regular occurrence) defending themselves against a perceived threat. While little behavioral data exists for colossal squid, they are believed to be slow-moving ambush and opportunistic cold-water predators with extremely sluggish metabolisms that primarily feed on Antarctic toothfish, making aggressive and/or predatory behavior towards humans or other large underwater creatures similarly unlikely under most circumstances.
285*** In 2015, a juvenile giant squid showed up in the harbour at Toyama, Japan. Though it was in an unfamiliar situation surrounded by people, the creature stayed remarkably calm, even allowing a diver to get up close with a camera to film it, before being carefully guided by the diver out of the harbour to just off the Sea of Japan beyond.
286* Meanwhile, the largest octopus in the ocean is the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Pacific_Giant_Octopus Giant North Pacific octopus]], with an arm-span of seventeen feet. There is ''not'', as far as most scientists are concerned, any octopus of giant squid-sized proportions or whale-sized proportions, as urban legend seems to state.
287** The largest octopus that ever lived was ''Enchoteuthis'', which could weigh up to 500 lbs and was a fairly common denizen of the Cretaceous-era Kansas seas. Of course, given the [[DeathWorld nature]] of those seas, they were actually pretty low on the food chain. Fossil evidence shows that they were preyed upon by massive predatory fish, and it also stands to reason that they were regular prey items of mosasaurs. It says something about how nasty those seas were when a giant octopus of all things was one of the less-threatening of the many predators roaming them.
288* Another species on the list of largest squids, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_squid Humboldt squid]], while not considered giant, (With a 5-foot long mantle, it’s actually third place on the list of largest squids, which goes to show just how vast the difference in size is between them and their even-larger kin is) best fits this trope in its behaviour; whereas Giant and Colossal squid are thought to be mostly docile around humans, the Humboldt does ''not'' share this trait. In California and Baja, where the squid are fished for, it's gained a nickname amongst the fishermen. ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Diablo rojo]]'', which means "red devil". This is a squid with a HairTriggerTemper that quite literally TurnsRed when it goes on the offensive, flashing between its neutral white colour and a vivid blood red. Humboldts do not sink boats, but when feeding or being fished up, they are extremely aggressive. Their beaks are too weak to break bones, but their strong arms have sharp teeth which can rip through skin and most wetsuits, inflicting serious bleeding that has the potential to be fatal if it rips its way into a major artery. They have also been known to attack underwater cameras and will eat other wounded Humboldts. However, outside of feeding and being fished, they have also been observed to be calm and curious, so their behavior is a subject of debate. Regardless, underwater cameraman Scott Cassell--who made a career filming them--won't go in the water with them without wearing a chainmail wetsuit.
289[[/folder]]

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