SHARK VS SHARK

CladoselachevsGreat hammerhead

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

ExtinctCladoselache fyleri×LivingSphyrna mokarran
QUICK VERDICT

Great hammerhead is about 3.4× longer by these reference values.

Great hammerhead uses a 6.1 m upper reference, compared with 1.8 m for Cladoselache. A clean mass ratio is not shown because at least one weight is not reliably reconstructed.

01

ON THE SAME SCALE

Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.

RELATIVE LENGTH · 0–24 METERS
ACladoselacheabout 1.8 m / 6 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.

MeasureCladoselacheGreat hammerhead
Length referenceabout 1.8 m / 6 ftreported to 6.1 m / 20 ft
Weight referenceNot reliably reconstructedrecorded to about 450 kg / 991 lb
Bite forceNo defensible estimate usedUnknownNo dependable maximum foundUnknown
Timeabout 370 million years agoTropical coastal and offshore waters
DietSmall fishesRays, fish and smaller sharks
03

WHAT THE DATA CAN SAY

Size is not the whole animal.

Length and weight

Cladoselache is represented by about 1.8 m / 6 ft; Great hammerhead by reported to 6.1 m / 20 ft. Calling it a modern-style shark hides major evolutionary distance. The comparison uses the largest reported length and a record mass.

Bite evidence

Cladoselache: No usable maximum-force model exists. Great hammerhead: Comparative biomechanics exist, but a simple verified maximum is not established here.

Living versus extinct

At least one animal is known from fossils. Fossil length, weight and bite estimates depend on which living analogues and scaling equations researchers choose.

Ecology changes the matchup

It was an early shark-like chondrichthyan with a streamlined body. Its wide head is a sensory platform, not just an unusual silhouette.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

CladoselacheSmithsonian National Museum of Natural HistoryGreat hammerheadFlorida MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →