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Shonisaurus
''Shonisaurus'' is a very large genus of ichthyosaur. At least 37 incomplete fossil specimens of the marine reptile have been found in the Luning Formation of Nevada, USA. This formation dates to the late Carnian age of the late Triassic period, about 237–227 million years ago. Description left, Size of ''S. popularis'' (green) and '' Shastasaurus sikanniensis'' (red) compared with a human (blue) ''Shonisaurus'' lived during the Carnian stage of the late Triassic period. ''S. popularis'' measured around in length and in body mass. A second species from British Columbia was named ''Shonisaurus sikanniensis'' in 2004. ''S. sikanniensis'' was one of the largest marine reptiles of all time, measuring and weighing . However, phylogenetic studies later showed ''S. sikanniensis'' to be a species of '' Shastasaurus'' rather than ''Shonisaurus''. A new study published in 2013 reasserted the original classification, finding it more closely related to ''Shonisaurus'' than to ''Shasta ...
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Shonisaurus Scale Mmartyniuk
''Shonisaurus'' is a very large genus of ichthyosaur. At least 37 incomplete fossil specimens of the marine reptile have been found in the Luning Formation of Nevada, USA. This formation dates to the late Carnian age of the late Triassic period, about 237–227 million years ago. Description left, Size of ''S. popularis'' (green) and '' Shastasaurus sikanniensis'' (red) compared with a human (blue) ''Shonisaurus'' lived during the Carnian stage of the late Triassic period. ''S. popularis'' measured around in length and in body mass. A second species from British Columbia was named ''Shonisaurus sikanniensis'' in 2004. ''S. sikanniensis'' was one of the largest marine reptiles of all time, measuring and weighing . However, phylogenetic studies later showed ''S. sikanniensis'' to be a species of ''Shastasaurus'' rather than ''Shonisaurus''. A new study published in 2013 reasserted the original classification, finding it more closely related to ''Shonisaurus'' than to ''Shasta ...
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Shonisaurus PopularisDB
''Shonisaurus'' is a very large genus of ichthyosaur. At least 37 incomplete fossil specimens of the marine reptile have been found in the Luning Formation of Nevada, USA. This formation dates to the late Carnian age of the late Triassic period, about 237–227 million years ago. Description left, Size of ''S. popularis'' (green) and '' Shastasaurus sikanniensis'' (red) compared with a human (blue) ''Shonisaurus'' lived during the Carnian stage of the late Triassic period. ''S. popularis'' measured around in length and in body mass. A second species from British Columbia was named ''Shonisaurus sikanniensis'' in 2004. ''S. sikanniensis'' was one of the largest marine reptiles of all time, measuring and weighing . However, phylogenetic studies later showed ''S. sikanniensis'' to be a species of ''Shastasaurus'' rather than ''Shonisaurus''. A new study published in 2013 reasserted the original classification, finding it more closely related to ''Shonisaurus'' than to ''Shasta ...
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Timeline Of Ichthyosaur Research
This timeline of ichthyosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the ichthyosauromorphs, a group of secondarily aquatic marine reptiles whose later members superficially resembled dolphins, sharks, or swordfish. Scientists have documented ichthyosaur fossils at least as far back as the late 17th century. At that time, a scholar named Edward Lhwyd published a book on British fossils that misattributed some ichthyosaur vertebrae to actual fishes; their true nature was not recognized until the 19th century. In 1811, a boy named Joseph Anning discovered the first ichthyosaur fossils that would come to be scientifically recognized as such. His sister Mary would later find the rest of its skeleton and would go on to become a respected fossil collector and paleontologist in her own right. Early researchers recognized ichthyosaurs as marine reptiles, but major aspects of their anatomy and behavior needed to be resolved. They were freque ...
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Ichthyosaur
Ichthyosaurs (Ancient Greek for "fish lizard" – and ) are large extinct marine reptiles. Ichthyosaurs belong to the order known as Ichthyosauria or Ichthyopterygia ('fish flippers' – a designation introduced by Sir Richard Owen in 1842, although the term is now used more for the parent clade of the Ichthyosauria). Ichthyosaurs thrived during much of the Mesozoic era; based on fossil evidence, they first appeared around 250 million years ago ( Ma) and at least one species survived until about 90 million years ago, into the Late Cretaceous. During the Early Triassic epoch, ichthyosaurs and other ichthyosauromorphs evolved from a group of unidentified land reptiles that returned to the sea, in a development similar to how the mammalian land-dwelling ancestors of modern-day dolphins and whales returned to the sea millions of years later, which they gradually came to resemble in a case of convergent evolution. Ichthyosaurs were particularly abundant in the Late Triassic a ...
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Shastasaurus
''Shastasaurus'' ("Mount Shasta lizard") is a very large extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the middle and late Triassic, and is the largest known marine reptile.Hilton, Richard P., ''Dinosaurs and Other Mesozoic Animals of California'', University of California Press, Berkeley 2003 , at pages 90-91. Specimens have been found in the United States, Canada, and China. Description left, Size of '' Shonisaurus popularis'' (green) and ''S. sikanniensis'' (red), a possible species of ''Shastasaurus'', compared with a human ''Shastasaurus'' lived during the late Triassic period. The type species ''Shastasaurus pacificus'' is known from California. ''S. pacificus'' was a medium-sized ichthyosaur, measuring over in length and weighing . A second possible species of ''Shastasaurus'', ''S. sikanniensis'', is known from the Pardonet Formation British Columbia, dating to the middle Norian age (about 210 million years ago). If ''S.sikanniensis'' belongs to ''Shastasaurus'', it would be the la ...
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State Fossil
Most American states have made a state fossil designation, in many cases during the 1980s. It is common to designate one species in which fossilization has occurred, rather than a single specimen, or a category of fossils not limited to a single species. Some states that lack an explicit state fossil have nevertheless singled out a fossil for formal designation as a state dinosaur, rock, gem or stone. __TOC__ Table of state fossils States lacking a state fossil * Hawaii * Minnesota ** The giant beaver was proposed in 2022. * Iowa ** The crinoid was proposed in 2018. * New Hampshire ** The American mastodon (''Mammut americanum'') was considered in 2015. * Rhode Island * Texas See also * List of U.S. state dinosaurs * List of U.S. state minerals, rocks, and gemstones * Lists of U.S. state insignia References External links List of U.S. state fossils, from National Park Service {{state insignia *State Fossils United States Fossils A fossil (from Clas ...
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List Of Ichthyosaurs
This list of ichthyosaurs is a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the order Ichthyosauria or the parent clade Ichthyopterygia, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera that are now considered invalid, doubtful (''nomen dubium''), or were not formally published (''nomen nudum''), as well as junior synonyms of more established names, and genera that are no longer considered ichthyopterygian. Non-ichthyosaur ichthyopterygians shall be noted as such. This list contains 108 genera. Scope and terminology There is no official, canonical list of ichthyosaur genera but one of the most thorough attempts can be found at the "Ichthyosauromorpha" section of Mikko Haaramo's Phylogeny Archive. Naming conventions and terminology follow the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Technical terms used include: * Junior synonym: A name which describes the same taxon as a previously published name. If tw ...
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Largest Prehistoric Organisms
The largest prehistoric animals include both vertebrate and invertebrate species. Many of them are described below, along with their typical range of size (for the general dates of extinction, see the link to each). Many species mentioned might not actually be the largest representative of their clade due to the incompleteness of the fossil record and many of the sizes given are merely estimates since no complete specimen have been found. Their body mass, especially, is largely conjecture because soft tissue was rarely fossilized. Generally the size of extinct species was subject to energetic and biomechanical constraints. Non-mammalian synapsids (Synapsida) Caseasaurs (Caseasauria) The herbivorous '' Alierasaurus'' was the largest caseid and the largest amniote to have lived at the time, with an estimated length around . '' Cotylorhynchus hancocki'' is also large, with an estimated length and weight of at least and more than . Edaphosaurids (Edaphosauridae) The large ...
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Charles Camp
Charles Lewis Camp (March 12, 1893 Jamestown, North Dakota – August 14, 1975 San Jose, California) was a palaeontologist and zoologist, working from the University of California, Berkeley. He took part in excavations at the 'Placerias Quarry', in 1930 and the forty ''Shonisaurus'' skeleton discoveries of the 1960s, in what is now the Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park. Camp served as the third director of the University of California Museum of Paleontology from 1930 to 1949, and coincidentally as chair of the UC Berkeley Paleontology Department between 1939 and 1949. Camp named a number of species of marine reptiles such as ''Shonisaurus'' and ''Plotosaurus'', as well as the dinosaur '' Segisaurus''. Camp was also an important bibliographer and historian of Western America. This aspect of his career is represented most notably by two works. The first is his biography of American pioneer James Clyman, which Bernard De Voto called "one of the half-dozen classics in the field." The secon ...
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Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 7th-most extensive, the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 32nd-most populous, and the List of U.S. states and territories by population density, 9th-least densely populated of the U.S. states. Nearly three-quarters of Nevada's people live in Clark County, Nevada, Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise, NV MSA, Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area, including three of the state's four largest incorporated cities. Nevada's capital is Carson City, Nevada, Carson City. Las Vegas is the largest city in the state. Nevada is officially known as the "Silver State" because of the importance of silver to its history and economy. It is also known as the "Battle ...
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Luning Formation
The Luning Formation is a geologic formation in Nevada. It preserves fossils dating back to the Triassic period. Fossil content The Luning Formation contains significant fossils of invertebrate fauna such as ammonites, bivalves and brachiopods. The site is known for its ichthyosaur fossils. Vertebrates * ''Shonisaurus popularis'' Invertebrates * ''Balatonospira lipoldi'' * ''Guembelites philostrati'' * ''Plectoconcha aequiplicata'' * ''P. newbyi'' sp. nov. * ''Rhaetina gregaria'' * ''Sagenites minaensis'' * '' Spiriferina gregaria'' * ''S. peneckei'' * ''Spondylospira lewesensis'' * '' Terebratula debilis'' * ''Terebratula suborbicularis'' * ''Tibetothyris julica'' * ''Zeilleria'' sp. * ''Zugmayerella uncinata'' See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Nevada * Paleontology in Nevada Paleontology in Nevada refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Nevada. Nevada has a rich fossil record of plants ...
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Samuel Paul Welles
Samuel Paul Welles (November 9, 1907 – August 6, 1997) was an American palaeontologist. Welles was a research associate at the Museum of Palaeontology, University of California, Berkeley. He took part in excavations at the Placerias Quarry in 1930 and the ''Shonisaurus'' discoveries of 1954 and later, in what is now the Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park. He accumulated an extensive collection of fossils of marine reptiles, amphibians, and fish, as well as describing the dinosaur ''Dilophosaurus'' in 1954 and the elasmosaur Elasmosauridae is an extinct family of plesiosaurs, often called elasmosaurs. They had the longest necks of the plesiosaurs and existed from the Hauterivian to the Maastrichtian stages of the Cretaceous, and represented one of the two groups of p ... '' Fresnosaurus'' in 1943. References American paleontologists 1907 births 1997 deaths University of California, Berkeley staff Scientists from California 20th-century American scientists {{Paleo ...
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