SHARK VS SHARK

CretoxyrhinavsGoblin shark

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

ExtinctCretoxyrhina mantelli×LivingMitsukurina owstoni
QUICK VERDICT

Cretoxyrhina is about 1.13× longer by these reference values.

Cretoxyrhina uses a 7 m upper reference, compared with 6.17 m for Goblin shark. 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
ACretoxyrhinaestimated to about 7 m / 23 ft
BGoblin sharkphoto-based estimates to 5.4–6.17 m / 18–20 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.

MeasureCretoxyrhinaGoblin shark
Length referenceestimated to about 7 m / 23 ftphoto-based estimates to 5.4–6.17 m / 18–20 ft
Weight referenceNot reliably reconstructedlarge specimen reported near 210 kg / 463 lb
Bite forceNo defensible estimate usedUnknownNo dependable maximum foundUnknown
Timeabout 107–73 million years agoDeep continental slopes worldwide
DietLarge fishes and marine reptilesFishes, squid and crustaceans
03

WHAT THE DATA CAN SAY

Size is not the whole animal.

Length and weight

Cretoxyrhina is represented by estimated to about 7 m / 23 ft; Goblin shark by photo-based estimates to 5.4–6.17 m / 18–20 ft. Length is reconstructed from fossils; mass is too model-dependent for a single figure here. The longest figures come from regression estimates based on photographs.

Bite evidence

Cretoxyrhina: TuffShark does not scale a bite value without a published species-specific model. Goblin shark: Jaw speed and protrusion are not the same measurement as bite force.

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

Teeth and rare skeletal material point to a large, fast lamniform predator. Its jaws shoot forward rapidly; maximum body size remains uncertain.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

CretoxyrhinaSmithsonian National Museum of Natural HistoryGoblin sharkFlorida MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →