SHARK VS SHARK

HybodusvsShortfin mako

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×LivingIsurus oxyrinchus
QUICK VERDICT

Shortfin mako is about 1.78× longer by these reference values.

Shortfin mako uses a 4.45 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
BShortfin makoreported to about 4.45 m / 14.6 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.

MeasureHybodusShortfin mako
Length referenceabout 2.5 m / 8.2 ftreported to about 4.45 m / 14.6 ft
Weight referenceNot reliably reconstructedrecorded to about 570 kg / 1,257 lb
Bite forceNo defensible estimate usedUnknownNo dependable maximum foundUnknown
Timeabout 250–100 million years agoOpen tropical and temperate oceans
DietFishes and hard-shelled preyFast fishes, squid and other sharks
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; Shortfin mako by reported to about 4.45 m / 14.6 ft. The genus spans a long interval and multiple species; this is a comparison reference. Record length and mass do not necessarily describe the same individual.

Bite evidence

Hybodus: Tooth form suggests diet, not an exact force. Shortfin mako: No directly comparable maximum bite-force estimate 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. Speed is its signature; the biggest animals are unusual and hard to verify.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

HybodusNatural History MuseumShortfin makoFlorida MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →