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Cranchiidae – Taoniinae: Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni Robson, 1925 (‘colossal squid’)
Synonym(s): hamiltoni Robson, 1925.
Typical mantle-length 2000 mm. Lives in offshore waters in midwater. Native. Occurs in southeastern Australia (TAS only); also the Southern Ocean. In Tasmanian waters, this species has been recorded as beak(s) recovered from the guts of beached whale(s).
Classification
Class: Cephalopoda
Subclass: Coleoidea
Order: Oegopsida
Superfamily: Oegopsida – unplaced
Family: Cranchiidae
Subfamily: Mesonychoteuthis
Genus: Mesopeplum
Localities for Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni
![species image](https://molluscsoftasmania.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Mesonychoteuthis-hamiltoni.jpg)
![locality map](https://molluscsoftasmania.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Mesonychoteuthis-hamiltoni-1.jpg)