SHARK VS SHARK

Bull sharkvsMegamouth 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×LivingMegachasma pelagios
QUICK VERDICT

Megamouth shark is about 1.77× longer by these reference values.

Megamouth shark uses a 7.1 m upper reference, compared with 4 m for Bull shark. Megamouth shark's weight reference is about 3.8× heavier.

01

ON THE SAME SCALE

Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.

RELATIVE LENGTH · 0–24 METERS
ABull sharkreported to 4 m / 13 ft
BMegamouth sharkreported to about 7.1 m / 23 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 sharkMegamouth shark
Length referencereported to 4 m / 13 ftreported to about 7.1 m / 23 ft
Weight referencereported to 316.5 kg / 698 lbreported near 1,215 kg / 2,679 lb
Bite force170–5,914 N across studied sizes and bite pointsModeledNot meaningfully establishedUnknown
HabitatCoasts, estuaries and freshwaterDeep tropical and subtropical oceans
DietFish, rays, turtles and other sharksKrill and other plankton
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; Megamouth shark by reported to about 7.1 m / 23 ft. The 4 m figure is a reported maximum; typical mature animals are smaller. Sparse specimens make a true maximum difficult to establish.

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. Megamouth shark: This filter feeder lacks a comparable maximum-bite study.

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. Known from relatively few encounters, it still carries major uncertainty.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

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