Great white shark vs Whale shark
The whale shark is heavier: 12 t against 1.09 t for the great white shark, about 11 times the weight.
Photo: Sharkdiver.com · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: User:Zac Wolf (original), en:User:Stefan (cropping) · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
What is the difference between a great white shark and a whale shark?
Each point below is worked out from a pair of recorded values.
- The whale shark is heavier: 12 t against 1.09 t for the great white shark, about 11 times the weight.
- They share the class Elasmobranchii but sit in different orders: Great white shark in Lamniformes, Whale shark in Orectolobiformes.
- The great white shark is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List; the whale shark is Endangered.
- They have been recorded in 23 of the same countries (the great white shark in 42 in total, the whale shark in 62). Shared records include zoos, so this does not mean they meet in the wild.
Side by side
| Great white shark | Whale shark | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Carcharodon carcharias | Rhincodon typus |
| Family | Lamnidae | Rhincodontidae |
| Order | Lamniformes | Orectolobiformes |
| Weight | 1.09 t | 12 t |
| Length | Not recorded | 14 m |
| Lifespan | 73 years | Not recorded |
| Main food | fish, Teuthida, seabird, sea turtle, Pinnipedia, dolphin and 46 more | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable | Endangered |
| Countries recorded | 42 | 62 |
A scale drawing needs a recorded length for both animals; only weights are on record for this pair.
Full record: Great white sharkFull record: Whale sharkCompare other animals