The seven-foot squid recovered in excellent condition five miles south
of Little Cayman Research Centre.

The Central Caribbean Maritime Institute (CCMI) reported this week that a giant squid, over seven feet (2.5m) in length, and now the fourth specimen known from the North Atlantic, has been recovered and is being preserved at its Little Cayman Research Centre for further study.

“The recovery of the squid is significant discovery because it is the best preserved specimen to date and the internal organs are likely to be intact. Squids in this family (Chiroteuthidae) are soft and gelatinous and are also know as whiplash squid,” said Dr Carrie Manfrino, President of the Central Caribbean Marine Institute, a Cayman Islands and US non-government organisation.

“What is curious about the discovery is that the fisherman found it on the surface of the ocean at night. The tentacles and eyes were missing.”

Dr Manfrino added: “Scientists are examining the photographs taken but what is clear is that the specimen, collected by a local fisherman, came from very deep water.”

Dr Clyde Roper of the Smithsonian Institute has preliminarily identified it as the rare Asperotheuthis species.

“This discovery is especially important because the species has only been described in general terms. This specimen will make it possible to more fully describe the species. As marine environments are under increasing stress, the lack of information about the diversity of life in the ocean is increasingly alarming,” said Dr Manfrino from her office in Princeton, New Jersey.