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Shastasaurid
Shastasauridae is an extinct family of ichthyosaurs from the Late Triassic with a possible Early Jurassic record. The family contains the largest known species of ichthyosaurs, which include some of and possibly the largest known marine reptiles. Taxonomy Shastasauridae was named by American paleontologist John Campbell Merriam in 1895 along with the newly described genus ''Shastasaurus''. In 1999, Ryosuke Motani erected the clade Shastasauria to include '' Shastasaurus'', ''Shonisaurus'', and several other traditional shastasaurids, defining it as a stem-based taxon including "all merriamosaurians more closely related to '' Shastasaurus pacificus'' than to ''Ichthyosaurus communis''." He also redefined Shastasauridae as a node-based taxon including "the last common ancestor of ''Shastasaurus pacificus'' and '' Besanosaurus leptorhynchus'', and all its descendants" and Shastasaurinae, which Merriam named in 1908, as a stem taxon including "the last common ancestor of ''Shastasau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Besanosaurus Leptorhynchus
''Besanosaurus'' (meaning ) is an extinct genus of Middle Triassic ichthyosaur from Monte San Giorgio of Italy and Switzerland, containing the single species ''B. leptorhynchus''. ''Besanosaurus'' was named by Cristiano Dal Sasso and Giovanni Pinna in 1996, based on the nearly complete flattened skeleton BES SC 999, the holotype specimen. This skeleton is preserved across multiple thin rock slabs spanning when assembled and took thousands of hours to prepare. Additional specimens from Monte San Giorgio that have previously been considered separate genera, including a partial skull named ''Mikadocephalus'' and a well-preserved, largely complete skeleton, have been reinterpreted as additional specimens of ''Besanosaurus''. Putative specimens of ''Besanosaurus'' have been discovered in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and Germany, although their attribution to this genus remains disputed. As an ichthyosaur, ''Besanosaurus'' had flippers for limbs and a fin on the tail. ''Besa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ichthyotitan
''Ichthyotitan'' ( ) is an extinct genus of giant ichthyosaur from the Late Triassic (Rhaetian), known from the Westbury Formation, Westbury Mudstone Formation in Somerset, England. It is believed to be a shastasaurid, extending the family's range by years up to the latest Triassic. The discovery of ''Ichthyotitan'' has been considered evidence that shastasaurids were still thriving until their disappearance in the TriassicāJurassic extinction event. The genus contains a Monotypic taxon, single species, ''I. severnensis''. It is known from two fragmentary surangular bones of the lower jaw, discovered in separate places in 2016 and 2020. Other specimens throughout Western Europe have been linked to the species based on similar Osteology, osteological features, although their affiliation is uncertain. Estimates scaling up the bones from other ichthyosaur species put ''Ichthyotitan'' body length at nearly , which would make it the largest marine reptile currently known. Discov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Shastasaurus Sikanniensis
''Shastasaurus'' ("Mount Shasta lizard") is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Late Triassic.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, ''S. pacificus'', is known from California, with the name ''Shastasaurus'' directly referencing Shasta County, Northern California, where the type specimen was found. ''S. pacificus'' was a medium-sized ichthyosaur, measuring over in length. 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). By comparison, ''S.sikanniens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Guanlingsaurus Restoration
''Guanlingsaurus'' is an extinct genus of shastasaurid ichthyosaur from the Late Triassic of China. It grew up to in length and has a wide, triangular skull with a short and toothless snout. Discovery It is known from a single species, ''Guanlingsaurus liangae'', that was found in the Carnian-age Falang Formation of Guanling County, which is in the province of Guizhou. The genus and species were first named in 2000 on the basis of an incomplete adult skeleton. More complete skeletons were described in 2011, and a complete skeleton belonging to a juvenile was described in 2013. In 2011 ''Guanlingsaurus liangae'' was reassigned to the genus ''Shastasaurus'', which includes two species from North America that are known from more complete fossils than ''Guanlingsaurus''. However, the description of the juvenile specimen in 2013 revealed several features that make ''G. liangae'' distinct from ''Shastasaurus'' species, and the name was reinstated. Description The largest specimen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Shastasaurus Pacificus
''Shastasaurus'' ("Mount Shasta lizard") is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Late Triassic.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, ''S. pacificus'', is known from California, with the name ''Shastasaurus'' directly referencing Shasta County, Northern California, where the type specimen was found. ''S. pacificus'' was a medium-sized ichthyosaur, measuring over in length. 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). By comparison, ''S.sikanniensis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Blue Whale
The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can be of various shades of greyish-blue on its upper surface and somewhat lighter underneath. Four subspecies are recognized: ''B. m. musculus'' in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, ''B. m. intermedia'' in the Southern Ocean, ''B. m. brevicauda'' (the pygmy blue whale) in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, and ''B. m. indica'' in the Northern Indian Ocean. There is a population in the waters off Chile that may constitute a fifth subspecies. In general, blue whale populations migrate between their summer feeding areas near the poles and their winter breeding grounds near the tropics. There is also evidence of year-round residencies, and partial or age/sex-based migration. Blue whales are filter feeders; their diet consists almost ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Guanlingsaurus
''Guanlingsaurus'' is an extinct genus of shastasaurid ichthyosaur from the Late Triassic of China. It grew up to in length and has a wide, triangular skull with a short and toothless snout. Discovery It is known from a single species, ''Guanlingsaurus liangae'', that was found in the Carnian-age Falang Formation of Guanling County, which is in the province of Guizhou. The genus and species were first named in 2000 on the basis of an incomplete adult skeleton. More complete skeletons were described in 2011, and a complete skeleton belonging to a juvenile was described in 2013. In 2011 ''Guanlingsaurus liangae'' was reassigned to the genus ''Shastasaurus'', which includes two species from North America that are known from more complete fossils than ''Guanlingsaurus''. However, the description of the juvenile specimen in 2013 revealed several features that make ''G. liangae'' distinct from ''Shastasaurus'' species, and the name was reinstated. Description The largest specimen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Triassic
The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized š) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period of the Mesozoic Era and the seventh period of the Phanerozoic Eon. Both the start and end of the period are marked by major extinction events. The Triassic Period is subdivided into three epochs: Early Triassic, Middle Triassic and Late Triassic. The Triassic began in the wake of the PermianāTriassic extinction event, which left the Earth's biosphere impoverished; it was well into the middle of the Triassic before life recovered its former diversity. Three categories of organisms can be distinguished in the Triassic record: survivors from the extinction event, new groups that flourished briefly, and other new groups that went on to dominate the Mesozoic Era. Reptiles, especially archosaurs, were the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Shonisaurus PopularisDB
''Shonisaurus'' is a genus of very large ichthyosaurs. At least 37 incomplete fossil specimens of the type species, ''Shonisaurus popularis'', have been found in the Luning Formation of Nevada, USA. This formation dates to the late Carnian-early Norian age of the Late Triassic, around 227 million years ago. Other possible species of ''Shonisaurus'' have been discovered from the middle Norian deposits of Canada and Alaska. Description left, Size of ''S. popularis'' (green) and '' Shastasaurus sikanniensis'' (red) compared with a human (blue) ''Shonisaurus'' lived during the late Carnian to Norian stages of the Late Triassic. With a large skull about long, ''S. popularis'' measured around in length and in body mass. ''S. sikanniensis'' was one of the largest marine reptiles of all time, measuring long and weighing . ''Shonisaurus'' had a long snout, and its flippers were much longer and narrower than in other ichthyosaurs. While ''Shonisaurus'' was initially reported to hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
