What is the Biggest Shark? A Chart Shows the Diversity of Shark Sizes

Sharks come in all sizes. The largest is the whale shark, which has been known to get as large as 18 meters (60 feet). The smallest fits in your hand. Find out how these modern sharks stack up against the ancient Carcharodon megalodon. And if you're a fan of great white sharks, you can download a shark-themed board game, track a shark named Omoo, and listen to a podcast about the species on our Great White Shark section.

TAGS:

Shark Sizes: Whale Shark 46 feet, Basking Shark 33 feet, Great White Shark 23 feet, Megamouth Shark 15 feet, Nurse Shark 13 feet, Mako Shark 8 feet, Blacktip Reef Shark 6.5 feet, Bonnethead Shark 3.4 feet, Dwaf Lantern Shark 6 inches
© Courtesy of the Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California

View Related Ocean Media Content

comment_wrapper_curve_top

Share your comments here.

* When you click submit, your comment will be added to the queue for review and will be published after approval.

  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Filtered words will be replaced with the filtered version of the word.

More information about formatting options

Type the characters you see in this picture. (verify using audio)
Type the characters you see in the picture above; if you can't read them, submit the form and a new image will be generated. Not case sensitive.

Comments

Hammer Head Shark

where is the hammer head shark it is bigger than a nurse shark but still not seeing it

Submitted by Facebook (not verified) on Sun, 04/28/2013 - 9:28pm.

question

is the bronze whaler the same as the whale shark?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/06/2013 - 10:49pm.

no

no they are totaly different sharks

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/09/2013 - 7:23am.

i think the dwarf shark is

i think the dwarf shark is really small

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 01/30/2013 - 9:20pm.

Interesting Info

Glad bout this information.

Submitted by xerpogi (not verified) on Tue, 12/18/2012 - 3:30am.

Wheres the six gill shark on

Wheres the six gill shark on this shart

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 12/05/2012 - 1:38am.

Hi, There are more than 470

Hi,

There are more than 470 species of shark, so we couldn't fit them all on the chart! The sixgill shark (Hexanchus griseus), also known as the cow shark, would squeeze in between the mako shark and nurse shark. Male sixgill sharks average around 10 feet, while females are closer to 13 feet.

I hope that helps. Thanks for visiting and commenting!

Submitted by Ocean Portal Team on Wed, 12/05/2012 - 11:26am.

I think that it is important

I think that it is important to note that despite their size, the majority of the sharks on this list do not pose a threat to humans.

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 10:28pm.

Very good point! Thanks for

Very good point! Thanks for making it. For more information, read this article, 5 Reasons to Revere, Not Fear, The Shark.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

Submitted by Ocean Portal Team on Wed, 06/06/2012 - 10:57am.

eerk

this is wrong. The nurse shark is not that big and the mako is more than 8 feet long. IN fact, Goblin sharks and pelagic thresher sharks should be ON THAT LIST.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 11/21/2012 - 10:00pm.

re: eerk

Hi,

Thanks for reading and commenting. This chart has to generalize about size. Some mako sharks are 12 feet long, but most are closer to 8 feet. And nurse sharks can reach 13 feet long.

We wish we could have included all the shark species on the chart, but there simply isn't enough room!

As for goblin sharks, there have only been 45 specimens observed ever! From those, it seems like they average around 10 feet in length; however, 45 individuals isn't enough to be sure. Pelagic thresher sharks are also around 10 feet.

Thanks again!

Submitted by Ocean Portal Team on Thu, 11/29/2012 - 11:44am.

comment_wrapper_curve