SHARK VS SHARK

Horn sharkvsHybodus

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

LivingHeterodontus francisci×ExtinctHybodus hauffianus
QUICK VERDICT

Hybodus is about 2.0× longer by these reference values.

Hybodus uses a 2.5 m upper reference, compared with 1.22 m for Horn shark. 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
AHorn sharkreported to 1.22 m / 4 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.

MeasureHorn sharkHybodus
Length referencereported to 1.22 m / 4 ftabout 2.5 m / 8.2 ft
Weight referencelarge-adult reference about 10 kg / 22 lbNot reliably reconstructed
Bite force128–338 N theoretical, depending on tooth positionModeledNo defensible estimate usedUnknown
TimeRocky eastern Pacific reefsabout 250–100 million years ago
DietUrchins, crabs and mollusksFishes and hard-shelled prey
03

WHAT THE DATA CAN SAY

Size is not the whole animal.

Length and weight

Horn shark is represented by reported to 1.22 m / 4 ft; Hybodus by about 2.5 m / 8.2 ft. Weight is a rounded adult reference. The genus spans a long interval and multiple species; this is a comparison reference.

Bite evidence

Horn shark: Experiments also measured bites; the displayed range is the study's theoretical maximum from front to rear teeth. 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 rear teeth crush hard prey, and its bite mechanics have been tested directly and modeled. It was a shark-line relative, not a member of a living shark order.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

Horn sharkHuber et al. (2005)HybodusNatural History MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →