SHARK VS SHARK

Great hammerheadvsWhite 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×LivingCarcharodon carcharias
QUICK VERDICT

Great hammerhead is about 1.02× 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 5.0× 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
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.

MeasureGreat hammerheadWhite shark
Length referencereported to 6.1 m / 20 ftabout 6 m / 20 ft
Weight referencerecorded to about 450 kg / 991 lbreported to about 2,268 kg / 5,000 lb
Bite forceNo dependable maximum foundUnknownabout 18,000 NModeled
HabitatTropical coastal and offshore watersTemperate seas worldwide
DietRays, fish and smaller sharksFish, rays and marine mammals
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; White shark by about 6 m / 20 ft. The comparison uses the largest reported length and a record mass. Maximum length and mass are exceptional upper-end figures.

Bite evidence

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

Its wide head is a sensory platform, not just an unusual silhouette. Its headline bite number is a computer model, not a live-animal measurement.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

Great hammerheadFlorida MuseumWhite sharkWroe et al. (2008) + Florida MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →