The colossal squid was landed by fishermen in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, last year.
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New Zealand scientists begin examination of colossal squid
The colossal squid has been described by scientists working at the Te Papa research institute at the Museum of New Zealand as the "biggest colossal squid ever caught".
Once defrosted, the dissection of the eight metre (26.25ft) long, 495kg (307lb) squid will be webcast on the
museum's website
Scientists know little about colossal squid, a species of cephalopod that lives at extreme depths.
They had previously only been rarely sighted through partly dismembered, digested or rotted body parts recovered from whales or washed up on beaches. The colossal squid was first identified after parts of two tentacles were found in the stomach of a sperm whale in 1925.
If the squid gets too warm, the outside could rot while the inside remains frozen. Scientists have been adding ice to slow the defrosting process.
clipped from: www.guardian.co.uk