Whitetip reef shark is about 1.75× longer by these reference values.
Whitetip reef shark uses a 2.13 m upper reference, compared with 1.22 m for Horn shark. Whitetip reef shark's weight reference is about 1.83× 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; Whitetip reef shark by reported to 2.13 m / 7 ft. Weight is a rounded adult reference. The species is usually smaller than its reported maximum.
Bite evidence
Horn shark: Experiments also measured bites; the displayed range is the study's theoretical maximum from front to rear teeth. Whitetip reef shark: No standardized maximum is used.
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. Its slim body lets it hunt inside reef crevices.
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