SHARK VS SHARK

Bull sharkvsEpaulette shark

Length, weight and bite evidence—plus context from a human, city bus and blue whale. Every number below carries its uncertainty with it.

LivingCarcharhinus leucas×LivingHemiscyllium ocellatum
QUICK VERDICT

Bull shark is about 3.7× longer by these reference values.

Bull shark uses a 4 m upper reference, compared with 1.07 m for Epaulette shark. Bull shark's weight reference is about 106× heavier.

01

ON THE SAME SCALE

Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.

RELATIVE LENGTH · 0–24 METERS
ABull sharkreported to 4 m / 13 ft
BEpaulette sharkreported to 1.07 m / 3.5 ft
REFAdult human1.8 m · about 80 kg

Length bars use upper comparison values and do not show body depth, tail proportion or typical adult size. A long thresher tail, for example, does not equal whale-shark body mass.

02

THE NUMBERS

Side by side.

MeasureBull sharkEpaulette shark
Length referencereported to 4 m / 13 ftreported to 1.07 m / 3.5 ft
Weight referencereported to 316.5 kg / 698 lblarge-adult reference about 3 kg / 6.6 lb
Bite force170–5,914 N across studied sizes and bite pointsModeledNo dependable maximum foundUnknown
HabitatCoasts, estuaries and freshwaterShallow coral reefs of Australia and New Guinea
DietFish, rays, turtles and other sharksWorms, crustaceans and small fishes
03

WHAT THE DATA CAN SAY

Size is not the whole animal.

Length and weight

Bull shark is represented by reported to 4 m / 13 ft; Epaulette shark by reported to 1.07 m / 3.5 ft. The 4 m figure is a reported maximum; typical mature animals are smaller. Mass varies strongly with size and is shown only as a reference.

Bite evidence

Bull shark: The upper value is a theoretical posterior bite for the largest specimen in a 73–285 cm study series—not a universal adult bite. Epaulette shark: No standardized maximum is used.

Living versus extinct

Both species are living, but record-sized individuals are rare. These upper references should not be read as normal adult size.

Ecology changes the matchup

Its freshwater range is exceptional among large coastal sharks. It can use its fins to walk across reef flats and tolerate low oxygen.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

Bull sharkHabegger et al. (2012) + Florida MuseumEpaulette sharkAustralian MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →