Otodus obliquus is about 2.0× longer by these reference values.
Otodus obliquus uses a 9.1 m upper reference, compared with 4.45 m for Shortfin mako. 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
Otodus obliquus is represented by estimated to about 9.1 m / 30 ft; Shortfin mako by reported to about 4.45 m / 14.6 ft. Soft-body dimensions are inferred from teeth and living analogues. Record length and mass do not necessarily describe the same individual.
Bite evidence
Otodus obliquus: No species-specific model is used. Shortfin mako: No directly comparable maximum bite-force estimate 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
It belonged to the megatooth lineage that later produced megalodon. Speed is its signature; the biggest animals are unusual and hard to verify.
TRACE THE CLAIMS