SHARK VS SHARK

Greenland sharkvsWhite shark

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

LivingSomniosus microcephalus×LivingCarcharodon carcharias
QUICK VERDICT

Greenland shark is about 1.07× longer by these reference values.

These animals are effectively close in maximum-length terms, so measurement uncertainty can matter more than the apparent difference. White shark's weight reference is about 2.2× heavier.

01

ON THE SAME SCALE

Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.

RELATIVE LENGTH · 0–24 METERS
AGreenland sharkconfirmed to about 6.4 m / 21 ft
BWhite sharkabout 6 m / 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.

MeasureGreenland sharkWhite shark
Length referenceconfirmed to about 6.4 m / 21 ftabout 6 m / 20 ft
Weight referencereported to about 1,023 kg / 2,255 lbreported to about 2,268 kg / 5,000 lb
Bite forceNo reliable published estimateUnknownabout 18,000 NModeled
HabitatCold North Atlantic and Arctic watersTemperate seas worldwide
DietFish, carrion and marine mammalsFish, rays and marine mammals
03

WHAT THE DATA CAN SAY

Size is not the whole animal.

Length and weight

Greenland shark is represented by confirmed to about 6.4 m / 21 ft; White shark by about 6 m / 20 ft. Age and upper mass involve uncertainty; length is better documented. Maximum length and mass are exceptional upper-end figures.

Bite evidence

Greenland shark: TuffShark found no defensible species-level bite-force estimate to display. White shark: A 3-D finite-element model predicted the bite of a very large individual; it was not measured on a living shark.

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

The age estimate is extraordinary; a dependable bite-force figure is not available. Its headline bite number is a computer model, not a live-animal measurement.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

Greenland sharkNOAA Ocean ServiceWhite sharkWroe et al. (2008) + Florida MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →