Top 10 Most Terrifyingly COLOSSAL Animals of All Time

Introducing… the super heavyweight class of the animal kingdom. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 colossal animals alive today.

For this list, we’re looking at the most impressive, and of course, LARGEST animals this world has to offer. This isn’t a simple list of the 10 biggest creatures around, but rather the most staggeringly oversized animals from a wide variety of species and environments across the globe. We’re not considering any creatures that are extinct, because, let’s be honest: animals of eons past were kind of in a class of their own.

Animation has given us plenty of cute little crabs in recent years, but until Tim Burton takes over as Pixar’s creative director, the Japanese spider crab is unlikely to get a starring role. Why? Well, it’s kinda the stuff of nightmares. While the Japanese spider crab may have a body that’s slightly smaller than the American lobster, the staggering length of their legs, which can reach a span of up to 18 ft when outstretched, and an arm-span of 12 ft from claw to claw, firmly establish them as the largest living arthropod. Thankfully, they typically dwell at depths of between 490 and 980 ft, so the likelihood of encountering one of these captivating, yet intimidating, creatures is slim.

When it comes to colossal meat-eating land mammals, it’s really a battle of the bears - between the Kodiak bear of Southwest Alaska and the Arctic polar bear. Both species can reach up to about 5.2 ft in shoulder height, and weigh in at a maximum of somewhere between 2,200 and 2,400 lbs. That’s substantially larger than any other bear species found around the world. Polar bears are carnivorous, primarily eating seals and fish, whereas the omnivorous Kodiak bear typically eats fish and a variety of plant life. Dietary considerations, coupled with the polar bear’s distinct white coat, ultra-extreme habitat, and impressive hunting skills, give it a slight edge over its Alaskan competitor. Hybrids between the two bears are possible, though!

Giant squids might be all the rage these days, but what about octopuses? The giant pacific octopus is considered by most to be the biggest octopus species around. The largest living specimen weighed in at 156 lb, but according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest ever recorded weighed nearly double, at 300 lbs, with a total arm-span of 32 ft. It can be found all across the Pacific Ocean, spending time cruising around at up to 25 MPH. Its pastimes include catching smaller prey in a parachute-like web found between its arms, and paralyzing its prey with the help of toxins contained in its salivary glands. On special occasions, it’s been known to eat small sharks or even wounded seagulls.

Sure, Komodo dragons might be intimidating, but of all the reptiles currently walking the earth, the saltwater crocodile is hands down the biggest. They’re commonly found across Australia and Southeast Asia, and… they’re massive. Male specimens have been recorded weighing in excess of 2,200 lb and measuring over 20 ft in length. While these particular crocodiles were of extraordinary size, saltwater crocodiles are the only living croc species to regularly reach 16 ft in length. They are considered to be an apex predator, truly at the top of the food chain in their environment - it’s a position they maintain by eating anything that dares to set foot, claw, wing or fin in their domain - humans included.

Polar bears might be the largest terrestrial carnivores, but southern elephant seals, found at the opposite pole, Antarctica, are the largest carnivores in the world - period. They typically weigh six to seven times more than a male polar bear. Mature males often weigh upwards of 7,000 lb, but the largest recorded specimen came in at a whopping 11,000 lb - measuring 22.5 ft. While the male elephant seals use that weight to their benefit when battling other males for a mate, their size can also prove intimidating for the females... and deadly to pups. Males are typically five to six times larger than the females, and in their enthusiasm to procreate, will often crush and kill pups.

Also known as the Antarctic squid, or giant cranch squid, the colossal squid is the largest invertebrate in the world. While the giant squid may be technically longer from tip to tip than the colossal squid (as the result of longer tentacles), the colossal squid beats out its “giant” counterpart in terms of mass, as well as the girth of its body. Its eyes are the largest of any in the animal kingdom, with an estimated diameter of 12 to 16 inches. Only a few whole specimens of this elusive deep-sea creature have ever been found. It is also rare among squids since it has rotating hooks to grab its prey.

This oceanic hunter requires little introduction, given its prevalence in popular culture. In the case of Great Whites, the females are typically larger than the males. Confirmed female specimens have been seen to grow up to 4,300 lb and 20 ft in length, but on average are closer to 15 or 16 ft in length. It is considered one of the largest lamniform sharks, with only the plankton-eating basking and whale sharks beating it out in terms of size when all species of shark are compared. It’s not the bloodthirsty man-eater “Jaws” would have you believe, but it is responsible for more attacks on humans than any of its peers, and has even been known to attack boats.

You might not think of them as colossal, but giraffes... are freaking tall. In fact, they’re the tallest animals on land. Standing at roughly 16 to 20 ft tall, 6 to 8 ft of height can be attributed to their absurdly elongated necks, meaning that on average, the neck accounts for just under half their total height. A giraffe’s neck is more than just for show though - it enables them to reach the leaves of trees in their natural habitat. For male giraffes, the long neck also proves useful during mating season to fight other males in a ritual called necking. Despite their slender build, giraffes are deceptively heavy - males weighing about 2,600 lb on average.

The average male giraffe likely towers over even the largest elephant, but elephants bring more than enough weight to the watering hole to make up for their shorter stature. The average male bush elephant is only between 10-13 ft tall, but also weighs between 10-13,000 lb, making it the largest terrestrial animal. But bulls have been known to outgrow that average by a wide margin. The largest recorded bull in history roughly doubled it, weighing an estimated 23-26,000 lb at the time of its death in 1956. Although Africa is home to another species of elephant, the forest elephant, they’re much smaller than the bush elephant, rarely exceeding 8 ft in height, and typically weighing closer to 6,000 lb.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
- Ostrich
- Giant Salamander
- Green Anaconda

Even the largest bush elephant in history weighs less than one tenth of an adult blue whale. The sperm whale, of “Moby-Dick” fame, takes the title of largest brain on earth, but at 35 to 60 ft in length, it pales in comparison to the length of the blue whale, which typically measures between 69 and 90 ft. Specimens have been found that exceed 100 ft, with one particular female measuring 109 ft - that’s longer than a regulation size basketball court. In terms of weight, the record is 191 short tons. Even when you take dinosaurs into account, the blue whale is the largest creature this planet has ever seen, and still swims among us to this day.

Do you agree with our list? Can you think of any other noteworthy colossal animals? For more “stranger than fiction” top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.