SHARK VS SHARK

HybodusvsOtodus obliquus

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

ExtinctHybodus hauffianus×ExtinctOtodus obliquus
QUICK VERDICT

Otodus obliquus is about 3.6× longer by these reference values.

Otodus obliquus uses a 9.1 m upper reference, compared with 2.5 m for Hybodus. 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
AHybodusabout 2.5 m / 8.2 ft
BOtodus obliquusestimated to about 9.1 m / 30 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.

MeasureHybodusOtodus obliquus
Length referenceabout 2.5 m / 8.2 ftestimated to about 9.1 m / 30 ft
Weight referenceNot reliably reconstructedNot reliably reconstructed
Bite forceNo defensible estimate usedUnknownNo defensible estimate usedUnknown
Timeabout 250–100 million years agoabout 56–45 million years ago
DietFishes and hard-shelled preyLarge fishes and marine vertebrates
03

WHAT THE DATA CAN SAY

Size is not the whole animal.

Length and weight

Hybodus is represented by about 2.5 m / 8.2 ft; Otodus obliquus by estimated to about 9.1 m / 30 ft. The genus spans a long interval and multiple species; this is a comparison reference. Soft-body dimensions are inferred from teeth and living analogues.

Bite evidence

Hybodus: Tooth form suggests diet, not an exact force. Otodus obliquus: No species-specific model is used.

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

It was a shark-line relative, not a member of a living shark order. It belonged to the megatooth lineage that later produced megalodon.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

HybodusNatural History MuseumOtodus obliquusPaleobiology DatabaseHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →