Squalicorax is about 24× longer by these reference values.
Squalicorax uses a 5 m upper reference, compared with 0.21 m for Dwarf lanternshark. A clean mass ratio is not shown because at least one weight is not reliably reconstructed.
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 THE DATA CAN SAY
Size is not the whole animal.
Length and weight
Dwarf lanternshark is represented by about 0.21 m / 8.3 in; Squalicorax by estimated to about 5 m / 16 ft. Tiny sample sizes make the exact maximum provisional. Body length and ecology are reconstructed from incomplete fossil evidence.
Bite evidence
Dwarf lanternshark: No standardized maximum is available. Squalicorax: Bite traces show feeding, not maximum 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
One of the smallest known sharks also produces light. Serrated teeth and bite traces show a broad, opportunistic diet.
TRACE THE CLAIMS