SHARK VS SHARK

Nurse sharkvsPacific sleeper shark

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

LivingGinglymostoma cirratum×LivingSomniosus pacificus
QUICK VERDICT

Pacific sleeper shark is about 2.3× longer by these reference values.

Pacific sleeper shark uses a 7 m upper reference, compared with 3.08 m for Nurse shark. Pacific sleeper shark's weight reference is about 8.2× heavier.

01

ON THE SAME SCALE

Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.

RELATIVE LENGTH · 0–24 METERS
ANurse sharkrecorded to 3.08 m / 10.1 ft
BPacific sleeper sharkreported near 7 m / 23 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.

MeasureNurse sharkPacific sleeper shark
Length referencerecorded to 3.08 m / 10.1 ftreported near 7 m / 23 ft
Weight referencelarge-adult reference about 110 kg / 243 lblarge-animal estimate about 907 kg / 2,000 lb
Bite forceNo dependable maximum foundUnknownNo dependable maximum foundUnknown
HabitatWarm reefs, flats and mangrovesCold North Pacific, often deep
DietFishes, rays, mollusks and crustaceansFishes, squid, marine mammals and carrion
03

WHAT THE DATA CAN SAY

Size is not the whole animal.

Length and weight

Nurse shark is represented by recorded to 3.08 m / 10.1 ft; Pacific sleeper shark by reported near 7 m / 23 ft. Length is a recorded maximum; mass is a rounded adult reference. Large values often depend on indirect or incomplete records.

Bite evidence

Nurse shark: Suction performance is central to feeding and is not captured by bite-force rankings. Pacific sleeper shark: 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

A small mouth and powerful suction suit its bottom-feeding life. Rare encounters make its maximum size less certain than familiar coastal species.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

Nurse sharkFlorida MuseumPacific sleeper sharkAlaska Department of Fish and GameHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →