Giant Beast Alert! Squid Bigger Than A School Bus Dwells in the Ocean

The ocean is home to the most terrifying and most unbelievable creatures on our planet. And just recently, a statistical ecologist from Scotland suggested that a giant squid longer than a school bus might be living in the open ocean.

Charles Paxton, the study's sole author, said the squid may measure up to 66 feet, larger than his first estimate of 43 feet.

There have been several rumors about the giant squid, Architeuthis dux, for the past years, but many are still in doubt about its existence. That was the case until a photo of it was published by Japanese researchers in 2004.

Paxton's provocative study, titled "Unleashing the Kraken: On the Maximum Length in the Giant Squid," published on May 17 in the Journal of Zoology provides a basis to conclude that these beasts may be larger and much bigger than previously estimated.

Using statistical analysis, Paxton argued that previous studies had underestimated the size of the giant squid.

"Lots of people believe all sorts of stuff about giant squids, which actually isn't what the evidence says, [including] that it was the kraken and that it is pretty small," he told National Geographic.

Paxton collated the size of numerous parts of the giant squid that have been gathered as evidence over the centuries. The data he gathered from those reports were analyzed to get the total of the maximum length of the giant squid.

As cited by Live Science, the study included analyzing 164 measures of mantle (body) length; 39 measures of standard length; and 47 measures of total length.

"I am extrapolating here, and extrapolation can sometimes be a bit sketchy," Paxton told Live Science.

"But I think these are fairly safe extrapolations. I genuinely think that giant-squid size has been underestimated," he added.

The giant squid is an elusive and puzzling animal.

A brief profile of the giant squid as presented by MarineBio.org said they are the largest invertebrate ever known to exist; they even have the largest eyes in the world and can weigh up to 900 kilograms.

They are believed to have a large nervous system, making them quite interesting to scientists. But being a solitary hunter, they remain mostly off human's radar.

But until more evidence is discovered, it seems like this giant beast may continue to stay off our radar.