Megalodon vs Bluntnose sixgill: Size, Weight & Bite Force

QUICK VERDICT

Megalodon is about 3.2× longer by these reference values.

Megalodon uses a 15.3 m upper reference, compared with 4.8 m for Bluntnose sixgill. Megalodon's weight reference is about 81× heavier.

ON THE SAME SCALE

Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.

RELATIVE LENGTH · 0–24 METERS

AMegalodonevidence-based upper estimate 14.1–15.3 m / 46–50 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.

THE NUMBERS

Side by side.

MeasureMegalodonBluntnose sixgill

Length referenceevidence-based upper estimate 14.1–15.3 m / 46–50 ftreported to 4.8 m / 15.8 ft

Weight referencemodeled reference around 48,000 kg / 53 tonspublished to 590 kg / 1,300 lb

Bite forcemodeled range about 108,514–182,201 NModeledNo dependable maximum foundUnknown

Timeabout 20–3.6 million years agoDeep temperate and tropical waters

DietLarge marine mammals, turtles and fishesFishes, rays, seals and carrion

WHAT THE DATA CAN SAY

Size is not the whole animal.

Length and weight

Megalodon is represented by evidence-based upper estimate 14.1–15.3 m / 46–50 ft; Bluntnose sixgill by reported to 4.8 m / 15.8 ft. No complete skeleton exists; 15.3 m is an evidence-based maximum from museum specimens, not a tape measurement. Deepwater sampling is difficult, so upper records are sparse.

Bite evidence

Megalodon: Finite-element scaling produced a range, not a directly measured bite. Bluntnose sixgill: No standardized maximum is available.

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

Nearly every whole-body number is reconstructed from teeth and comparisons with living sharks. Its six gill slits mark an ancient branch of shark diversity.

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

MegalodonWroe et al. (2008) + Shimada et al. (2020) ↗Bluntnose sixgillFlorida Museum ↗How we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →