Zoologists in Australia are busy studying one of the largest ever giant squid that was found washed up on a beach on Thursday in southern Australia.

The giant creature weighs some 550 pounds and stretched 26 feet from head to tentacle. The length is about as long as a school bus but zoologists say that it might have been even longer when it was alive, since the tentacles appeared to be badly damaged.

The squid was discovered on a beach late at night on the western coast of Tasmania. It is not clear how the squid of this size died and showed up on the shore. Scientists have collected tissue samples to conduct DNA and other tests to study more about the animal.

According to nationalgeographic.com, another giant squid bearing similar injuries washed up on a Tasmanian beach in 2002.