SHARK VS SHARK

Otodus obliquusvsWhite shark

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

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 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
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.

MeasureOtodus obliquusWhite 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 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; 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.

Bite evidence

Otodus obliquus: No species-specific model is used. 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

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. Its headline bite number is a computer model, not a live-animal measurement.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

Otodus obliquusPaleobiology DatabaseWhite sharkWroe et al. (2008) + Florida MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →