Animals by size
23 things ranked from blue whale at 29.9 m down to honey bee at 13 mm — a spread of 2,300×.
| Thing | Size | In feet | vs the largest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue whale | 29.9 m | 98.1 ft | — |
| Whale shark | 18.8 m | 61.7 ft | 62.9% |
| Humpback whale | 16 m | 52.5 ft | 53.5% |
| Sperm whale | 16 m | 52.5 ft | 53.5% |
| Giant squid | 13 m | 42.7 ft | 43.5% |
| Tyrannosaurus rex | 12.3 m | 40.4 ft | 41.1% |
| Orca | 8 m | 26.2 ft | 26.8% |
| Reticulated python | 6.95 m | 22.8 ft | 23.2% |
| Giraffe | 5.5 m | 18 ft | 18.4% |
| Saltwater crocodile | 5.2 m | 17.1 ft | 17.4% |
| Great white shark | 4.6 m | 15.1 ft | 15.4% |
| African bush elephant | 3.2 m | 10.5 ft | 10.7% |
| Komodo dragon | 2.6 m | 8.53 ft | 8.7% |
| Polar bear | 2.5 m | 8.2 ft | 8.4% |
| Ostrich | 2.5 m | 8.2 ft | 8.4% |
| Moose | 2.1 m | 6.89 ft | 7% |
| Lion | 2.1 m | 6.89 ft | 7% |
| Human adult | 1.7 m | 5.58 ft | 5.7% |
| Hippopotamus | 1.5 m | 4.92 ft | 5% |
| Emperor penguin | 1.15 m | 3.77 ft | 3.8% |
| House cat | 46 cm | 1.51 ft | 1.5% |
| Bee hummingbird | 57 mm | 0.19 ft | 0.2% |
| Honey bee | 13 mm | 0.04 ft | 0% |
How the sizes are taken. Each figure says what it measures — height, length, diameter or elevation — and for which individual or convention. Everything is drawn standing upright on one baseline so a single scale holds, including things that are long rather than tall. Values come from the linked Wikipedia article for each item.
About this list
The 23 entries are a curated selection rather than a complete census, chosen so that sizes spread across a wide range. Blue whale sets the top of the scale here at 29.9 m; honey bee sets the bottom at 13 mm.
Each figure states what it measures and links to its source. Where a thing could be measured two ways, the page names which one it uses.
Read the rest — 3 more sections
How the spread looks
The 23 animals here run from 13 mm to 29.9 m. The middle entry, African bush elephant, is 3.2 m, which is 11% of the largest. 12 of the 23 are at least a tenth of the size of blue whale, so 11 of them fall more than ten times smaller than the leader.
The widest jump between neighbours in the ranking is from house cat (46 cm) down to bee hummingbird (57 mm), a step of 8.07×. Gaps like this are where a size chart is most useful, because the two things on either side look like different kinds of object.
The largest and the smallest
The three largest are blue whale (29.9 m), whale shark (18.8 m), humpback whale (16 m). The three smallest are honey bee (13 mm), bee hummingbird (57 mm), house cat (46 cm).
For a sense of human scale, an adult of 1.7 m stands at 5.7% of the largest entry and 131× the smallest.
How sizes in this group are measured
Animal sizes vary from one individual to the next, so each figure says which individual or average it describes. Heights are taken at the shoulder or standing; lengths run nose to tail tip unless stated.
Open any row to see its own page, which names the measurement, the basis and the Wikipedia article used, and compares it with the things nearest to it in size.