Tyrannosaurus rex vs Orca
Tyrannosaurus rex (12.3 m) is 1.54× the size of orca (8 m).
Orca is 65% of the height of Tyrannosaurus rex. The gap between them is 4.3 m (14.1 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyrannosaurus rex | 12.3 m | 40.4 ft | length |
| Orca | 8 m | 26.2 ft | length |
What the scale shows
Tyrannosaurus rex (12.3 m) is 1.54× the size of orca (8 m). The gap between them is 4.3 m (14.1 ft). Both are animals, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 65% 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 Tyrannosaurus rex is its length (the specimen nicknamed Sue). The figure for orca is its length (a large adult male (6–8 m)).
Crossing them
Walking pace is 1.4 m/s, so crossing Tyrannosaurus rex's 12.3 m takes 8.8 seconds and orca's 8 m takes 5.7 seconds.
In people: Tyrannosaurus rex is 7.2 adults of 1.7 m tall, orca is 4.71. By size Tyrannosaurus rex is 6th of the 23 animals on this site and orca is 7th, so 1 place separates them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. The Tyrannosaurus rex is given as a length, the specimen nicknamed Sue. The orca is given as a length, a large adult male (6–8 m). 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 Tyrannosaurus rex is number 68 from the top and the orca is number 69. 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 1.54× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, the Tyrannosaurus rex would have about 2.36× the surface or footprint of the orca, and about 3.63× 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 orca is drawn 65% as tall as the Tyrannosaurus rex, but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 42.3%, 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 Tyrannosaurus rex in 1.2 seconds and the orca in 800 milliseconds. Sound, at about 343 m/s in air, takes 36 milliseconds for the larger and 23 milliseconds for the smaller. A jet cruising at 900 km/h needs 49 milliseconds and 32 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 1.54× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
The Tyrannosaurus rex measures 12.3 m, which is 40.4 ft or 13.5 yards. The orca measures 8 m, which is 26.2 ft.
The difference between them is 4.3 m (14.1 ft). In metres the smaller one is 8 against 12.3, so the 1.54× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, the Tyrannosaurus rex or the orca?
The Tyrannosaurus rex is bigger. At 12.3 m it is 1.54× the size of the orca, which is 8 m.
How many times does the orca fit along the Tyrannosaurus rex?
Less than twice: the orca is 65% of the size of the Tyrannosaurus rex, so one fits with 4.3 m to spare.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are length figures. The Tyrannosaurus rex is the specimen nicknamed Sue; the orca is a large adult male (6–8 m).
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, the Tyrannosaurus rex is about 7.2 people tall and the orca is about 4.71. The gap of 4.3 m is 2.5 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.