SHARK VS SHARK

Otodus obliquusvsGreat white shark

See the size difference first, then compare weight, habitat, diet and what the bite-force evidence can actually support.

ExtinctOtodus obliquus×LivingCarcharodon carcharias
QUICK VERDICT

Otodus obliquus is about 1.52× longer by these reference values.

Otodus obliquus uses a 9.1 m upper reference, compared with 6 m for Great white shark. A clean mass ratio is not shown because at least one weight is not reliably reconstructed.

01

ON THE SAME SCALE

Human. Bus. Whale.
Pick your reference.

RELATIVE LENGTH · 0–24 METERS
AOtodus obliquusestimated to about 9.1 m / 30 ft
BGreat white 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.

MeasureOtodus obliquusGreat white shark
Length referenceestimated to about 9.1 m / 30 ftabout 6 m / 20 ft
Weight referenceNot reliably reconstructedreported to about 2,268 kg / 5,000 lb
Bite forceNo defensible estimate usedUnknownabout 18,000 NModeled
Timeabout 56–45 million years agoTemperate seas worldwide
DietLarge fishes and marine vertebratesFish, rays and marine mammals
03

WHAT SETS THEM APART

More than a size contest.

Length and weight

Otodus obliquus is represented by estimated to about 9.1 m / 30 ft; Great white shark by about 6 m / 20 ft. Soft-body dimensions are inferred from teeth and living analogues. Maximum length and mass are exceptional upper-end figures.

Habitat and diet

Otodus obliquus: Paleocene and Eocene seas; large fishes and marine vertebrates. Great white shark: Temperate seas worldwide; fish, rays and marine mammals.

Bite evidence

Otodus obliquus: No species-specific model is used. Great white shark: A 3-D finite-element model predicted the bite of a very large individual; it was not measured on a living shark.

Fossils change the certainty

At least one animal is known from fossils. Fossil length, weight and bite estimates depend on which living analogues and scaling equations researchers choose.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

Otodus obliquusPaleobiology Database ↗Great white sharkWroe et al. (2008) + Florida Museum ↗How we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →