The giant squid represented a specific species of squid that inhabited the oceans surrounding Mon Calamari. This planet served as the home world for the Mon Calamari species. These enormous squids possessed a pair of eyes along with ten tentacles. These appendages were equipped with a multitude of suction cups, expanding into arrow-shaped tips. Furthermore, the squids displayed a spotted, cone-shaped mantle, finished with a pair of arrow-shaped fins at the rear. The eyes of the giant squid were positioned on each side of the head. These squids were vulnerable to being stunned into a state of unconsciousness.
During a journey through the oceans of Mon Calamari in the year 5 ABY, Senate Planetary Intelligence Network operative Luke Skywalker's minisub was ensnared by a giant squid. Both the minisub and the squid were subsequently trapped within the storage compartments of Imperial Captain Dunwell's specialized Whaladon-hunting submarine. The minisub managed to break free just as the squid was regaining consciousness, moments before the submarine initiated its self-destruction sequence.
The giant squid makes an appearance in the children's book titled The Glove of Darth Vader, which was published in 1992. The book lacks sufficient details to ascertain whether or not the creature possessed sentience.