This squid has one of the largest beaks known of any squid and also has unique swivelling hooks on the clubs at the ends of its tentacles.

Bigger still

This combination allows it to attack fish as large as the Patagonian toothfish and probably to also attempt to maul sperm whales.

"When this animal was alive, it really has to be one of the most frightening predators out there. It's without parallel in the oceans," said Dr O'Shea, whose work is sponsored by Discovery Channel.

The specimen, which was caught in the past few weeks in the Ross Sea, has a mantle length of 2.5 metres. That is a larger mantle than any giant squid that Dr O'Shea has seen and this specimen is still immature, the NZ scientist believes.

"It's only half to two-thirds grown, so it grows up to four metres in mantle length." By comparison, the mantle of the giant squid is not known to attain more than 2.25 metres.

Common name

The squid researchers are calling Mesonychoteuthis Hamiltoni the 'Colossal Squid'. "We'd like to give this animal the name 'Colossal Squid' in order to have a common name for it as opposed to just the scientific name," said Kat Bolstad, research associate at Auckland University of Technology.

"We feel that colossal conveys both the size and the aggressiveness of the animal."

"This animal, armed as it is with the hooks and the beak that it has, not only is colossal in size but is going to be a phenomenal predator and something you are not going to want to meet in the water."