Nurse shark is about 2.5× longer by these reference values.
Nurse shark uses a 3.08 m upper reference, compared with 1.22 m for Horn shark. Nurse shark's weight reference is about 11× heavier.
ON THE SAME SCALE
Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.
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.
THE NUMBERS
Side by side.
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; Nurse shark by recorded to 3.08 m / 10.1 ft. Weight is a rounded adult reference. Length is a recorded maximum; mass is a rounded adult reference.
Bite evidence
Horn shark: Experiments also measured bites; the displayed range is the study's theoretical maximum from front to rear teeth. Nurse shark: Suction performance is central to feeding and is not captured by bite-force rankings.
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 rear teeth crush hard prey, and its bite mechanics have been tested directly and modeled. A small mouth and powerful suction suit its bottom-feeding life.
TRACE THE CLAIMS