SHARK VS SHARK

Megamouth sharkvsOtodus obliquus

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

LivingMegachasma pelagios×ExtinctOtodus obliquus
QUICK VERDICT

Otodus obliquus is about 1.28× longer by these reference values.

Otodus obliquus uses a 9.1 m upper reference, compared with 7.1 m for Megamouth shark. 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
AMegamouth sharkreported to about 7.1 m / 23 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.

MeasureMegamouth sharkOtodus obliquus
Length referencereported to about 7.1 m / 23 ftestimated to about 9.1 m / 30 ft
Weight referencereported near 1,215 kg / 2,679 lbNot reliably reconstructed
Bite forceNot meaningfully establishedUnknownNo defensible estimate usedUnknown
TimeDeep tropical and subtropical oceansabout 56–45 million years ago
DietKrill and other planktonLarge fishes and marine vertebrates
03

WHAT THE DATA CAN SAY

Size is not the whole animal.

Length and weight

Megamouth shark is represented by reported to about 7.1 m / 23 ft; Otodus obliquus by estimated to about 9.1 m / 30 ft. Sparse specimens make a true maximum difficult to establish. Soft-body dimensions are inferred from teeth and living analogues.

Bite evidence

Megamouth shark: This filter feeder lacks a comparable maximum-bite study. 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

Known from relatively few encounters, it still carries major uncertainty. It belonged to the megatooth lineage that later produced megalodon.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

Megamouth sharkFlorida MuseumOtodus obliquusPaleobiology DatabaseHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →