SHARK VS SHARK

Great hammerheadvsHybodus

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

LivingSphyrna mokarran×ExtinctHybodus hauffianus
QUICK VERDICT

Great hammerhead is about 2.4× longer by these reference values.

Great hammerhead uses a 6.1 m upper reference, compared with 2.5 m for Hybodus. A clean mass ratio is not shown because at least one weight is not reliably reconstructed.

01

ON THE SAME SCALE

Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.

RELATIVE LENGTH · 0–24 METERS
AGreat hammerheadreported to 6.1 m / 20 ft
BHybodusabout 2.5 m / 8.2 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.

MeasureGreat hammerheadHybodus
Length referencereported to 6.1 m / 20 ftabout 2.5 m / 8.2 ft
Weight referencerecorded to about 450 kg / 991 lbNot reliably reconstructed
Bite forceNo dependable maximum foundUnknownNo defensible estimate usedUnknown
TimeTropical coastal and offshore watersabout 250–100 million years ago
DietRays, fish and smaller sharksFishes and hard-shelled prey
03

WHAT THE DATA CAN SAY

Size is not the whole animal.

Length and weight

Great hammerhead is represented by reported to 6.1 m / 20 ft; Hybodus by about 2.5 m / 8.2 ft. The comparison uses the largest reported length and a record mass. The genus spans a long interval and multiple species; this is a comparison reference.

Bite evidence

Great hammerhead: Comparative biomechanics exist, but a simple verified maximum is not established here. Hybodus: Tooth form suggests diet, not an exact 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 wide head is a sensory platform, not just an unusual silhouette. It was a shark-line relative, not a member of a living shark order.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

Great hammerheadFlorida MuseumHybodusNatural History MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →