Humpback whale vs Giant squid
Humpback whale (16 m) is 1.23× the size of giant squid (13 m).
Giant squid is 81% of the height of humpback whale. The gap between them is 3 m (9.84 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humpback whale | 16 m | 52.5 ft | length |
| Giant squid | 13 m | 42.7 ft | length |
What the scale shows
Humpback whale (16 m) is 1.23× the size of giant squid (13 m). The gap between them is 3 m (9.84 ft). Both are animals, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 81% 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.
Read the rest — 8 more sections
What each figure means
The figure for humpback whale is its length (a typical adult (14–17 m)). The figure for giant squid is its length (a female including its tentacles).
Crossing them
Walking pace is 1.4 m/s, so crossing humpback whale's 16 m takes 11 seconds and giant squid's 13 m takes 9.3 seconds.
In people: humpback whale is 9.4 adults of 1.7 m tall, giant squid is 7.65. By size humpback whale is 3rd of the 23 animals on this site and giant squid is 5th, so 2 places separate them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. The humpback whale is given as a length, a typical adult (14–17 m). The giant squid is given as a length, a female including its tentacles. 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 humpback whale is number 65 from the top and the giant squid is number 67. 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 1.23× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, the humpback whale would have about 1.51× the surface or footprint of the giant squid, and about 1.86× 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 giant squid is drawn 81% as tall as the humpback whale, but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 66%, 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 humpback whale in 1.6 seconds and the giant squid in 1.3 seconds. Sound, at about 343 m/s in air, takes 47 milliseconds for the larger and 38 milliseconds for the smaller. A jet cruising at 900 km/h needs 64 milliseconds and 52 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 1.23× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
The humpback whale measures 16 m, which is 52.5 ft or 17.5 yards. The giant squid measures 13 m, which is 42.7 ft.
The difference between them is 3 m (9.84 ft). In metres the smaller one is 13 against 16, so the 1.23× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, the humpback whale or the giant squid?
The humpback whale is bigger. At 16 m it is 1.23× the size of the giant squid, which is 13 m.
How many times does the giant squid fit along the humpback whale?
Less than twice: the giant squid is 81% of the size of the humpback whale, so one fits with 3 m to spare.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are length figures. The humpback whale is a typical adult (14–17 m); the giant squid is a female including its tentacles.
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, the humpback whale is about 9.4 people tall and the giant squid is about 7.65. The gap of 3 m is 1.8 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.