SHARK VS SHARK

Bull sharkvsGreat hammerhead

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×LivingSphyrna mokarran
QUICK VERDICT

Great hammerhead is about 1.52× longer by these reference values.

Great hammerhead uses a 6.1 m upper reference, compared with 4 m for Bull shark. Great hammerhead's weight reference is about 1.42× heavier.

01

ON THE SAME SCALE

Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.

RELATIVE LENGTH · 0–24 METERS
ABull sharkreported to 4 m / 13 ft
BGreat hammerheadreported to 6.1 m / 20 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 sharkGreat hammerhead
Length referencereported to 4 m / 13 ftreported to 6.1 m / 20 ft
Weight referencereported to 316.5 kg / 698 lbrecorded to about 450 kg / 991 lb
Bite force170–5,914 N across studied sizes and bite pointsModeledNo dependable maximum foundUnknown
HabitatCoasts, estuaries and freshwaterTropical coastal and offshore waters
DietFish, rays, turtles and other sharksRays, fish and smaller sharks
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; Great hammerhead by reported to 6.1 m / 20 ft. The 4 m figure is a reported maximum; typical mature animals are smaller. The comparison uses the largest reported length and a record mass.

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. Great hammerhead: Comparative biomechanics exist, but a simple verified maximum is not established here.

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. Its wide head is a sensory platform, not just an unusual silhouette.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

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