SHARK VS SHARK

Epaulette sharkvsLemon shark

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

LivingHemiscyllium ocellatum×LivingNegaprion brevirostris
QUICK VERDICT

Lemon shark is about 2.8× longer by these reference values.

Lemon shark uses a 3 m upper reference, compared with 1.07 m for Epaulette shark. Lemon shark's weight reference is about 83× heavier.

01

ON THE SAME SCALE

Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.

RELATIVE LENGTH · 0–24 METERS
AEpaulette sharkreported to 1.07 m / 3.5 ft
BLemon sharkcommonly to 3 m / 10 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.

MeasureEpaulette sharkLemon shark
Length referencereported to 1.07 m / 3.5 ftcommonly to 3 m / 10 ft
Weight referencelarge-adult reference about 3 kg / 6.6 lbreported to 250 kg / 551 lb
Bite forceNo dependable maximum foundUnknownNo dependable maximum foundUnknown
HabitatShallow coral reefs of Australia and New GuineaShallow subtropical coasts and mangroves
DietWorms, crustaceans and small fishesFishes, rays and crustaceans
03

WHAT THE DATA CAN SAY

Size is not the whole animal.

Length and weight

Epaulette shark is represented by reported to 1.07 m / 3.5 ft; Lemon shark by commonly to 3 m / 10 ft. Mass varies strongly with size and is shown only as a reference. The values are upper-end figures, not a typical adult profile.

Bite evidence

Epaulette shark: No standardized maximum is used. Lemon shark: No standardized maximum is available for a fair cross-species comparison.

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

It can use its fins to walk across reef flats and tolerate low oxygen. Decades of field research make this one of the best-studied coastal sharks.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

Epaulette sharkAustralian MuseumLemon sharkFlorida MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →