Megalodon is about 2.5× longer by these reference values.
Megalodon uses a 15.3 m upper reference, compared with 6.17 m for Goblin shark. Megalodon's weight reference is about 229× 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
Goblin shark is represented by photo-based estimates to 5.4–6.17 m / 18–20 ft; Megalodon by evidence-based upper estimate 14.1–15.3 m / 46–50 ft. The longest figures come from regression estimates based on photographs. No complete skeleton exists; 15.3 m is an evidence-based maximum from museum specimens, not a tape measurement.
Habitat and diet
Goblin shark: Deep continental slopes worldwide; fishes, squid and crustaceans. Megalodon: Warm and temperate seas worldwide; large marine mammals, turtles and fishes.
Bite evidence
Goblin shark: Jaw speed and protrusion are not the same measurement as bite force. Megalodon: Finite-element scaling produced a range, not a directly measured bite.
Fossils change the certainty
At least one animal is known from fossils. Fossil length, weight and bite estimates depend on which living analogues and scaling equations researchers choose.
TRACE THE CLAIMS