SHARK VS SHARK

Great hammerheadvsLemon shark

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×LivingNegaprion brevirostris
QUICK VERDICT

Great hammerhead is about 2.0× longer by these reference values.

Great hammerhead uses a 6.1 m upper reference, compared with 3 m for Lemon shark. Great hammerhead's weight reference is about 1.80× heavier.

01

ON THE SAME SCALE

Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.

RELATIVE LENGTH · 0–24 METERS
AGreat hammerheadreported to 6.1 m / 20 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.

MeasureGreat hammerheadLemon shark
Length referencereported to 6.1 m / 20 ftcommonly to 3 m / 10 ft
Weight referencerecorded to about 450 kg / 991 lbreported to 250 kg / 551 lb
Bite forceNo dependable maximum foundUnknownNo dependable maximum foundUnknown
HabitatTropical coastal and offshore watersShallow subtropical coasts and mangroves
DietRays, fish and smaller sharksFishes, rays and crustaceans
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; Lemon shark by commonly to 3 m / 10 ft. The comparison uses the largest reported length and a record mass. The values are upper-end figures, not a typical adult profile.

Bite evidence

Great hammerhead: Comparative biomechanics exist, but a simple verified maximum is not established here. 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

Its wide head is a sensory platform, not just an unusual silhouette. Decades of field research make this one of the best-studied coastal sharks.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

Great hammerheadFlorida MuseumLemon sharkFlorida MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →