Megamouth shark is about 1.42× longer by these reference values.
Megamouth shark uses a 7.1 m upper reference, compared with 5 m for Squalicorax. A clean mass ratio is not shown because at least one weight is not reliably reconstructed.
ON THE SAME SCALE
Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.
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.
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; Squalicorax by estimated to about 5 m / 16 ft. Sparse specimens make a true maximum difficult to establish. Body length and ecology are reconstructed from incomplete fossil evidence.
Bite evidence
Megamouth shark: This filter feeder lacks a comparable maximum-bite study. Squalicorax: Bite traces show feeding, not maximum force.
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. Serrated teeth and bite traces show a broad, opportunistic diet.
TRACE THE CLAIMS