Nurse shark is about 1.45× longer by these reference values.
Nurse shark uses a 3.08 m upper reference, compared with 2.13 m for Whitetip reef shark. Nurse shark's weight reference is about 6.0× heavier.
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
Nurse shark is represented by recorded to 3.08 m / 10.1 ft; Whitetip reef shark by reported to 2.13 m / 7 ft. Length is a recorded maximum; mass is a rounded adult reference. The species is usually smaller than its reported maximum.
Bite evidence
Nurse shark: Suction performance is central to feeding and is not captured by bite-force rankings. Whitetip reef shark: No standardized maximum is used.
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. Its slim body lets it hunt inside reef crevices.
TRACE THE CLAIMS