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139 / Mesozoic
Shonisaurus
Shonisaurus popularis
This roughly fifteen-meter ichthyosaur had a long narrow snout and four flippers.
Structured expansion · editorial review pending
- Time range
- About 237–227 million years ago
- Final stage
- Late Triassic
- Geographic range
- Eastern Panthalassa · Present-day Nevada
01 / ANSWER FIRST
What was Shonisaurus?
This archive records Shonisaurus under the scientific name Shonisaurus popularis, with an age of About 237–227 million years ago and a range of Eastern Panthalassa · Present-day Nevada. This roughly fifteen-meter ichthyosaur had a long narrow snout and four flippers.
Shonisaurus was a giant Late Triassic ichthyosaur. A tooth-bearing jaw from Nevada cautions against reconstructing every adult as toothless; a 2022 bonebed study proposed repeated use of the site for reproduction.
02 / QUICK FACTS
Shonisaurus at a glance
- Scientific name
- Shonisaurus popularis
- Age
- About 237–227 million years ago
- Last recorded stage
- Late Triassic
- Known range
- Eastern Panthalassa · Present-day Nevada
- Broad group
- reptile
- Archive era
- Mesozoic
- Habitat signals
- temperature, nesting habitat, prey or vegetation, and connected landscapes
- Documented regions
- North America
03 / ANATOMY
How was Shonisaurus built?
Overall body plan
This roughly fifteen-meter ichthyosaur had a long narrow snout and four flippers.
Skull and feeding apparatus
The available record is interpreted through preserved proportions, attachment surfaces, wear and comparison with related organisms. For Shonisaurus, those observations must be separated from features added only for visual reconstruction.
Axial skeleton and locomotion
Shonisaurus was a giant Late Triassic ichthyosaur. A tooth-bearing jaw from Nevada cautions against reconstructing every adult as toothless; a 2022 bonebed study proposed repeated use of the site for reproduction.
Growth and individual variation
A single specimen does not define the whole species. Size, maturity, preservation and possible sex differences are considered before anatomical traits are treated as typical of Shonisaurus.
04 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
How did Shonisaurus live?
Shonisaurus was a giant Late Triassic ichthyosaur. A tooth-bearing jaw from Nevada cautions against reconstructing every adult as toothless; a 2022 bonebed study proposed repeated use of the site for reproduction. This ecological reconstruction is strongest where anatomy, associated organisms and the depositional setting point in the same direction.
05 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
What shaped its ecological limits?
Its populations depended on temperature, nesting habitat, prey or vegetation, and connected landscapes. Changes in any one factor did not necessarily cause immediate extinction, but interacting pressures could reduce range, recruitment and resilience.
06 / RANGE & HABITAT
Where and when did Shonisaurus live?
This archive currently lists About 237–227 million years ago; Eastern Panthalassa · Present-day Nevada. Fossil or historical occurrence data describe where evidence has been found, not every place the taxon once occupied. Species-level age and range limits still require source-specific review.
Documented geographic range
Eastern Panthalassa · Present-day Nevada. This boundary can change when specimens are reidentified or new localities are published.
Time window
About 237–227 million years ago, with the final recorded stage listed as Late Triassic. Rock units and dating uncertainty mean the true biological range may extend beyond the known record.
Environmental setting
The archive uses the broad habitat labels temperature, nesting habitat, prey or vegetation, and connected landscapes. These labels help explore related records; a habitat reconstruction requires evidence from individual localities.
07 / FOSSIL EVIDENCE
What evidence supports reconstructions of Shonisaurus?
Primary record
Dozens of incomplete skeletons at Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park constrain its skull, spine, limbs and size.
Comparative anatomy
Preserved structures are compared with close and functionally similar organisms. The method can constrain posture and function, but analogy alone cannot prove colour, behaviour or soft tissue.
Age and locality
Stratigraphy and occurrence records place Shonisaurus within About 237–227 million years ago and Eastern Panthalassa · Present-day Nevada. Reworked fossils and uncertain provenance are treated cautiously.
Open entity records
Links below connect the archive to available taxonomic and occurrence records. A matching name does not verify every ecological claim, and related-taxon links provide comparison rather than an exact species match.
Evidence limits for this record
A tooth-bearing jaw is documented. Repeated use of the locality for reproduction is a research interpretation; it does not establish a complete life history for every individual.
08 / DISAPPEARANCE & DEBATE
Why did Shonisaurus disappear?
The fossil ages recorded here predate the end-Triassic event; the broader decline of giant ichthyosaurs does not establish the extinction timing or cause of this species.
The last fossil or observation marks the youngest evidence currently known, not necessarily the death of the final individual. Explanations are strongest when timing, environmental change and population biology agree; otherwise the profile preserves uncertainty instead of assigning a single dramatic cause.
09 / FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Shonisaurus FAQ
What was Shonisaurus?
This archive records Shonisaurus under the scientific name Shonisaurus popularis, with an age of About 237–227 million years ago. This roughly fifteen-meter ichthyosaur had a long narrow snout and four flippers.
When did Shonisaurus live?
The current archive range is About 237–227 million years ago; its youngest recorded stage is Late Triassic.
Where was Shonisaurus found?
The archive currently lists Eastern Panthalassa · Present-day Nevada. Species-level locality assignments and the full geographic range still require source-specific review.
How do scientists know about Shonisaurus?
Dozens of incomplete skeletons at Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park constrain its skull, spine, limbs and size.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Completed an AI-assisted bilingual audit of the archive record, corrected identified issues and clarified evidence limits; independent editorial review is pending.
- Expanded into a structured bilingual profile with anatomy, ecology, range, evidence, debate and FAQs; independent editorial review is pending.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS