SHARK VS SHARK

Lemon sharkvsBluntnose sixgill

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

LivingNegaprion brevirostris×LivingHexanchus griseus
QUICK VERDICT

Bluntnose sixgill is about 1.60× longer by these reference values.

Bluntnose sixgill uses a 4.8 m upper reference, compared with 3 m for Lemon shark. Bluntnose sixgill's weight reference is about 2.4× heavier.

01

ON THE SAME SCALE

Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.

RELATIVE LENGTH · 0–24 METERS
ALemon sharkcommonly to 3 m / 10 ft
BBluntnose sixgillreported to 4.8 m / 15.8 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.

MeasureLemon sharkBluntnose sixgill
Length referencecommonly to 3 m / 10 ftreported to 4.8 m / 15.8 ft
Weight referencereported to 250 kg / 551 lbpublished to 590 kg / 1,300 lb
Bite forceNo dependable maximum foundUnknownNo dependable maximum foundUnknown
HabitatShallow subtropical coasts and mangrovesDeep temperate and tropical waters
DietFishes, rays and crustaceansFishes, rays, seals and carrion
03

WHAT THE DATA CAN SAY

Size is not the whole animal.

Length and weight

Lemon shark is represented by commonly to 3 m / 10 ft; Bluntnose sixgill by reported to 4.8 m / 15.8 ft. The values are upper-end figures, not a typical adult profile. Deepwater sampling is difficult, so upper records are sparse.

Bite evidence

Lemon shark: No standardized maximum is available for a fair cross-species comparison. Bluntnose sixgill: No standardized maximum is available.

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

Decades of field research make this one of the best-studied coastal sharks. Its six gill slits mark an ancient branch of shark diversity.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

Lemon sharkFlorida MuseumBluntnose sixgillFlorida MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →