Colossal squid to feature on Discovery Channel

The story of a colossal squid caught by a New Zealand fishing vessel and taken to Wellington's Te Papa Museum is to feature on the Discovery Channel.

The San Aspiring fishermen caught what has since been recorded as the largest ever squid in the Ross Sea, near Antarctica, providing scientists with their first ever chance to study the elusive predator.

The documentary follows the story of how the fishermen froze the specimen till their return to New Zealand.

Gifted to Te Papa by the Fisheries Ministry, the colossal squid lay in the national museum's freezer for a year before beginning the massive task of defrosting, providing international scientists with their first in-tact sample of a colossal squid.

The female giant is the biggest invertebrate ever discovered, being 4.2 metres long and weighing in at 495kg. She also holds the record for have the world's largest eye, measuring 27cm in diameter.

It went on public display at the museum at the weekend.

The documentary will screen on Discovery Channel on Sunday, January 11.

- © Fairfax NZ News