Goblin shark is about 1.23× longer by these reference values.
Goblin shark uses a 6.17 m upper reference, compared with 5 m for Squalicorax. 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
Goblin shark is represented by photo-based estimates to 5.4–6.17 m / 18–20 ft; Squalicorax by estimated to about 5 m / 16 ft. The longest figures come from regression estimates based on photographs. Body length and ecology are reconstructed from incomplete fossil evidence.
Bite evidence
Goblin shark: Jaw speed and protrusion are not the same measurement as bite force. 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
Its jaws shoot forward rapidly; maximum body size remains uncertain. Serrated teeth and bite traces show a broad, opportunistic diet.
TRACE THE CLAIMS