SHARK VS SHARK

HybodusvsPtychodus

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×ExtinctPtychodus mortoni
QUICK VERDICT

Ptychodus is about 3.9× longer by these reference values.

Ptychodus uses a 9.7 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
BPtychodusrecent reconstructions approach 9.7 m / 32 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.

MeasureHybodusPtychodus
Length referenceabout 2.5 m / 8.2 ftrecent reconstructions approach 9.7 m / 32 ft
Weight referenceNot reliably reconstructedNot reliably reconstructed
Bite forceNo defensible estimate usedUnknownNo defensible estimate usedUnknown
Timeabout 250–100 million years agoabout 100–85 million years ago
DietFishes and hard-shelled preyHard-shelled prey
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; Ptychodus by recent reconstructions approach 9.7 m / 32 ft. The genus spans a long interval and multiple species; this is a comparison reference. A body outline is rare; length estimates can change with new fossils.

Bite evidence

Hybodus: Tooth form suggests diet, not an exact force. Ptychodus: Hard-prey specialization does not justify inventing a force number.

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. Flattened crushing teeth—not knife-like teeth—defined this huge shark.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

HybodusNatural History MuseumPtychodusPaleobiology DatabaseHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →