I just wanted to add some more information on the squid caught near Elba. (http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10793)

According to this link (in Italian: http://iltirreno.repubblica.it/dettaglio/articolo/1357047?edizione=Grosseto)
Dr. Paolo Sartor of the Centro Studi di Biologia Marina di Livorno states that it was a Dimond Squid (Thysanoteuthis rhombus), a female about to deposit eggs.

Some more pics:
http://iltirreno.repubblica.it/multimedia/home/1090339/1/1

(Sorry for posting here, I don't seem to have the permission to reply directly to http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10793)

http://download.kataweb.it/mediaweb/image/brand_iltirreno/2007/08/24/1187975921163_calamaro_4_ok.jpg

Nice looking squid, but once again the press seems to get a lot of the details wrong... I don't know why they feel a need lump all the large squids as the biggest... If someone takes a great picture of a leopard, they don't feel obligated to call it a lion...

Anyway, thanks for the updates on this, and the picture link is fantastic!

hell, they'll take a picture of a cat and call it "One of the most feroicous felines every found."

But that aside, this is very interesting, with the egg laying and all. Were there any previous reports of that speices of squid even living in the region?

According to this Italian article http://www.lastampa.it/_web/cmstp/tmplrubriche/mare/grubrica.asp?ID_blog=97&ID_articolo=453&ID_sezione=271&sezione=
Thysanoteuthis rhombus was seen formerly only two times in the last 30 years near the Italian coast, one near Sicily, the other near Sardinia, although it doesn't seem to be a rare species in the Mediterranean Sea.
"Although it resembles a calamaro, it isn't one and therefore it won't be deep-fried", commented Dr. Sartor. :lol:
So they did an autopsy and took out the stomach, the ovaries, muscle tissues and the beak (diameter 10 cm) for further examination.

But is it edible?

If it is it must be a treat, considering how muscular its mantle is, this is one aggressive fast hunter, not unlike Taningia at all.

Some nice pics of some kids and a pair of diamond squids they found on the beach of Porto Stefano (Sardinia). The female weighed 16 kg, the male 14 kg.

http://www.informabano.it/files/index2.htm?cur_sez=25&cur_art=350

They look incredibly fresh as well. Again, it's impressive to see how sturdy these creatures are built.