Shortfin mako is about 1.11× longer by these reference values.
Shortfin mako uses a 4.45 m upper reference, compared with 4 m for Bull shark. Shortfin mako's weight reference is about 1.80× heavier.
ON THE SAME SCALE
Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.
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.
THE NUMBERS
Side by side.
WHAT SETS THEM APART
More than a size contest.
Length and weight
Bull shark is represented by reported to 4 m / 13 ft; Shortfin mako by reported to about 4.45 m / 14.6 ft. The 4 m figure is a reported maximum; typical mature animals are smaller. Record length and mass do not necessarily describe the same individual.
Habitat and diet
Bull shark: Coasts, estuaries and freshwater; fish, rays, turtles and other sharks. Shortfin mako: Open tropical and temperate oceans; fast fishes, squid and other sharks.
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. Shortfin mako: No directly comparable maximum bite-force estimate is used.
Records are not averages
Both species are living, but record-sized individuals are rare. These upper references should not be read as normal adult size.
TRACE THE CLAIMS