Never realized the size difference between the Submaripper and the Shellfire
The Submaripper and the Shellfire are considered natural enemies and rivals in the HTTYD lore. Based off the wiki, we have the following information:
The Submaripper has a gigantic size of 50 ft (15.24 meters), a weight of 3600 lbs (1632.9 kilograms), and a wingspan of 70 ft (21.34 meters). It is a Tracker and Tidal class dragon.
The Shellfire has a gigantic of 160 feet (48.77 meters), a weight of 7600 pounds (3.4 tons), and a wingspan of 190 feet (57.91 meters). It is a Tidal Class.
Comparing these guys to our world's equivalent would be whales, like the Humpback Whale with a size of 14 to 17 meters (46 to 56 feet) in length and weighing approximately 25 to 40 metric tons (50,000 to 80,000 pounds) and the Blue Whale, the largest animal on the planet, with a size of 100 feet (30-35 meters) and weighing as much as 200 tons (400,000+ pounds).
Now I have learnt to take the dragons' size and weight stats from the wiki with a grain of salt. But it's pretty surprising to see the considerable difference in size and weight and also see that they are rivals. So I had a few questions and also have found the answers too: In the confines of the HTTYD universe, does it make sense that they would be rivals/natural enemies? And also the same in our world? And let's say we change their respective weights to make it more believable while keeping size/wingspan the same, would it still make sense in both the confines of the HTTYD and our world (biology wise) that they would be rivals/natural enemies? Here are my findings:
- In the HTTYD Universe: Does the rivalry make sense?
Yes, but not as equals. In the show, the Shellfire is portrayed as a "Colossal" dragon. In dragon logic, a rivalry doesn't always mean they fight 1v1 in the open ocean. Since both are Tidal Class, in HTTYD, Tidal dragons are notoriously protective of their "patches" of ocean. The Submaripper is also a Tracker Class. In the franchise, Tracker-class Dragons can also be identified by being able to find and harass larger targets, not just hightened tracking abilites. A rivalry here might look like a Submaripper harrassing a Shellfire, or a Submaripper using its agility to steal food right out of the Shellfire's mouth.
- In Our World: Does the rivalry make sense?
Very much no, it would be a "Predator-Prey" relationship. In biology, a rivalry (Interspecific Competition) occurs when two species compete for the same limited resource (like lions and spotted hyenas both hunting zebra). The size gap if one of the biggest factors. A 160-foot creature has vastly different caloric needs than a 50-foot one. They wouldn't be "rivals" because they wouldn't be hunting the same things. The Shellfire would likely be a filter feeder or a hunter of giant squid, while the Submarriper would hunt medium fish. In the real world, an animal the size of a Submarriper would never "rival" a Shellfire. One accidental tail swipe from the Shellfire would break every bone in the Submarriper's body. The Submarriper would treat the Shellfire like a moving natural disaster to be avoided.
- If we change the weights, does the rivalry work?
To make these weights believable for their lengths, we have to look at marine biology. Like we said beofre, a 50ft whale would weight between 35 and 75 tons (70,000 to 150,000 pounds), depending on the species and its body density, and a 160ft creature (longer than any known Blue Whale) would easily exceed 200 tons (400,000 lbs).
- In the HTTYD Universe: If we make them heavier/denser, the rivalry actually becomes more believable. A heavier Submarriper would have the physical "thump" needed to actually hurt a Shellfire. It turns the Submarriper from a "gnat" into a "wolverine", something small but heavy and powerful enough to make a giant think twice about attacking.
- Our World: Even with "realistic" weights, they still wouldn't be rivals. Biology follows the Square-Cube Law: As an animal doubles in length, its surface area triples, but its volume (weight) increases eightfold. Because the Shellfire is more than 3x the length of the Submarriper, it would be roughly 27 times more massive. The real-world equivalent would be like this: Imagine a Sea Otter (Submarriper) trying to be "rivals" with a Great White Shark (Shellfire). They live in the same water, but they aren't rivals. One is just a potential snack for the other, and they occupy completely different levels of the food chain.
If you made it this far here's a question: Do you see the Submarriper as an aggressor that actively hunts the Shellfire, or more of a scavenger that just gets on the bigger dragon's nerves?
Posted Apr 1, 2026, 8:16 PM UTC