Shonisaurus

Characteristics ~ ~ ~ ~

Commonly referred to as a sea blimp, Shonisaurus popularis was one of the largest Ichthyosaurs to ever live. Growing up to 44-49 ft long and weighing up to 23-32 short tons. Shonisaurus lived in the Panthalassic Ocean, which was the Pacific Ocean in the Late Triassic. Shonisaurus had a very large chest, giving it its round shape; it needed one to support its large lungs. Its skull had large eye sockets, which likely supported huge eyes for seeing in low-light conditions. These adaptations likely made Shonisaurus a great deep-sea predator. Shonisaurus had a 9ft long snout, not practical for large-bodied prey, but useful for catching soft-bodied, slippery prey like squid, which is believed to be Shonisaurus' main diet. Although some believe it was a potential filter feeder. I imagine Shonisaurus would have parasitic barnacles over its body, as many whales do. All 4 of Shonisaurus's flippers were the same size, unlike other marine predators that have smaller rear flippers. This adaptation gave it smoother swimming and doesn’t allow for quick bursts of speed. Their tail flukes were similar to mosasaurs, pointed upsidown unlike sharks, which have upright tail flukes. Unlike most reptiles, they were viviparous, giving live birth rather than laying eggs. I also imagine they took care of their offspring just like whales do, since their offspring would be vulnerable without protection. Shonisaurus went extinct in the Triassic-Jurassic (Tr-J) extinction.

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History & Fossils ~ ~ ~ ~

A huge Shonisaurus quarry in the Shoshone Mountains was discovered in 1920. There were 37 different large-bodied itchyosaurs found, and excavations took around 30 years in total. They were all named under the genus Shonisaurus. There is a potential second species of Shonisaurus S. sikanniesis known from much larger remains with an estimated size of 69 ft long and a weight of 90 short tons. However, it is debated which ichthyosaur genus the species sikanniesis belongs to, either Shonisaurus or Shastasaurus. Shonisaurus is the official State fossil for Nevada, and the Berlin–Ichthyosaur State Park is the best place to go to see Shonisaurus fossils.

Media Deptictions ~ ~ ~ ~

Jurassic World Evolution 2 Shonisaurus was added in the Marine Species pack, Alongside Nothosaurus, Dunkleosteus, and Archelon. There is no squid feeder in the game, so Shonisaurus uses the fish feeder even though it’s odd for such a large animal to be chasing small fish, just like Archelon. Anyways, Shonisaurus has some absolutely beautiful skin variety with surprising colors like bright purple and green. Shonisaurus is peaceful and graceful, slowly swimming through the lagoon, the antithesis of the large, viscous Mosasaurus. Shonisaurus looks particularly great amongst a school of Itchyosaurus as their small and quick nature creates a nice contrast between the two species under the same family. As of right now, Shonisaurus is not in Jurassic World Evolution 3, so no baby Shonisaurus.

Shonisaurus was BUILT DIFFERENT [PAM 36]

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