Giant squid vs Tyrannosaurus rex
Giant squid (13 m) is 1.06× the size of Tyrannosaurus rex (12.3 m).
Tyrannosaurus rex is 95% of the height of giant squid. The gap between them is 70 cm (2.3 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giant squid | 13 m | 42.7 ft | length |
| Tyrannosaurus rex | 12.3 m | 40.4 ft | length |
What the scale shows
Giant squid (13 m) is 1.06× the size of Tyrannosaurus rex (12.3 m). The gap between them is 70 cm (2.3 ft). Both are animals, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 95% of the frame while the larger one runs to the top. The two are close enough that the difference is easy to see side by side.
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What each figure means
The figure for giant squid is its length (a female including its tentacles). The figure for Tyrannosaurus rex is its length (the specimen nicknamed Sue).
Crossing them
Walking pace is 1.4 m/s, so crossing giant squid's 13 m takes 9.3 seconds and Tyrannosaurus rex's 12.3 m takes 8.8 seconds.
In people: giant squid is 7.6 adults of 1.7 m tall, Tyrannosaurus rex is 7.24. By size giant squid is 5th of the 23 animals on this site and Tyrannosaurus rex is 6th, so 1 place separates them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. The giant squid is given as a length, a female including its tentacles. The Tyrannosaurus rex is given as a length, the specimen nicknamed Sue. Both are length figures, so putting them on one baseline is a like-for-like comparison, although the exact individual or convention still matters.
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.
Where the pair sits among all the sizes here
Across all 86 things on this site, the giant squid is number 67 from the top and the Tyrannosaurus rex is number 68. No other item falls between them, so in this collection they are direct neighbours.
Because the collection spans 13 mm up to 1,392,700 km, a ratio of 107,130,769,231× from smallest to largest, the position of a pair says a lot: both sit in the lower third of the list.
What the length ratio hides
A length ratio of 1.06× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, the giant squid would have about 1.12× the surface or footprint of the Tyrannosaurus rex, and about 1.18× the volume. For animals volume tracks weight, which is why a long animal is far heavier than its length suggests, and why a small animal cannot simply be a scaled-down copy of a large one.
The drawing above shows length only. The Tyrannosaurus rex is drawn 95% as tall as the giant squid, but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 89.5%, which is why the smaller one looks even slighter than the numbers alone suggest.
Time to cross each one
A sprinter holding about 10 m/s covers the giant squid in 1.3 seconds and the Tyrannosaurus rex in 1.2 seconds. Sound, at about 343 m/s in air, takes 38 milliseconds for the larger and 36 milliseconds for the smaller. A jet cruising at 900 km/h needs 52 milliseconds and 49 milliseconds.
These times assume a straight line and constant speed, which no real crossing has, but they turn a number in metres into something the body understands. At any fixed speed the travel times keep the same 1.06× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
The giant squid measures 13 m, which is 42.7 ft or 14.2 yards. The Tyrannosaurus rex measures 12.3 m, which is 40.4 ft.
The difference between them is 70 cm (2.3 ft). In metres the smaller one is 12.3 against 13, so the 1.06× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, the giant squid or the Tyrannosaurus rex?
The giant squid is bigger. At 13 m it is 1.06× the size of the Tyrannosaurus rex, which is 12.3 m.
How many times does the Tyrannosaurus rex fit along the giant squid?
Less than twice: the Tyrannosaurus rex is 95% of the size of the giant squid, so one fits with 70 cm to spare.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are length figures. The giant squid is a female including its tentacles; the Tyrannosaurus rex is the specimen nicknamed Sue.
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, the giant squid is about 7.6 people tall and the Tyrannosaurus rex is about 7.24. The gap of 70 cm is 0.4 people.
Where do the numbers come from?
Each item has its own page that names the measurement and links to the Wikipedia article it was taken from. Some figures are rounded, and animals vary from one individual to the next, so treat them as representative values rather than records for every case.
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.