
Shastasaurus ("Mount Shasta lizard") is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Late Triassic. Specimens have been found in the United States, Canada, and China.
Shastasaurus ("Mount Shasta lizard") is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Late Triassic. Specimens have been found in the United States, Canada, and China.
==Description== thumb|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 was one of the largest known ichthyosaurs, similar in size to modern-day cetaceans, measuring up to in length and weighing .
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