SHARK VS SHARK

PtychodusvsTiger shark

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

ExtinctPtychodus mortoni×LivingGaleocerdo cuvier
QUICK VERDICT

Ptychodus is about 1.76× longer by these reference values.

Ptychodus uses a 9.7 m upper reference, compared with 5.5 m for Tiger 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
APtychodusrecent reconstructions approach 9.7 m / 32 ft
BTiger sharklargest specimens exceed 5.5 m / 18 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.

MeasurePtychodusTiger shark
Length referencerecent reconstructions approach 9.7 m / 32 ftlargest specimens exceed 5.5 m / 18 ft
Weight referenceNot reliably reconstructedexceptional estimate over 900 kg / 2,000 lb
Bite forceNo defensible estimate usedUnknownNo dependable maximum foundUnknown
Timeabout 100–85 million years agoTropical and warm-temperate seas
DietHard-shelled preyTurtles, fishes, birds, carrion and more
03

WHAT THE DATA CAN SAY

Size is not the whole animal.

Length and weight

Ptychodus is represented by recent reconstructions approach 9.7 m / 32 ft; Tiger shark by largest specimens exceed 5.5 m / 18 ft. A body outline is rare; length estimates can change with new fossils. Both values describe exceptional animals, not an average adult.

Bite evidence

Ptychodus: Hard-prey specialization does not justify inventing a force number. Tiger shark: Popular figures are often repeated without a traceable species-level method.

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

Flattened crushing teeth—not knife-like teeth—defined this huge shark. Its broad diet is real; an exact maximum bite number is not well established.

04

TRACE THE CLAIMS

Sources and limits.

PtychodusPaleobiology DatabaseTiger sharkFlorida MuseumHow we standardize comparisonsRead the methodology →