SHARK VS SHARK

Megamouth sharkvsWhite shark

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×LivingCarcharodon carcharias
QUICK VERDICT

Megamouth shark is about 1.18× longer by these reference values.

Megamouth shark uses a 7.1 m upper reference, compared with 6 m for White shark. White shark's weight reference is about 1.87× heavier.

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
BWhite sharkabout 6 m / 20 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 sharkWhite shark
Length referencereported to about 7.1 m / 23 ftabout 6 m / 20 ft
Weight referencereported near 1,215 kg / 2,679 lbreported to about 2,268 kg / 5,000 lb
Bite forceNot meaningfully establishedUnknownabout 18,000 NModeled
HabitatDeep tropical and subtropical oceansTemperate seas worldwide
DietKrill and other planktonFish, rays and marine mammals
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; White shark by about 6 m / 20 ft. Sparse specimens make a true maximum difficult to establish. Maximum length and mass are exceptional upper-end figures.

Bite evidence

Megamouth shark: This filter feeder lacks a comparable maximum-bite study. White shark: A 3-D finite-element model predicted the bite of a very large individual; it was not measured on a living shark.

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

Known from relatively few encounters, it still carries major uncertainty. Its headline bite number is a computer model, not a live-animal measurement.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

Megamouth sharkFlorida MuseumWhite sharkWroe et al. (2008) + Florida MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →