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Shastasaurus
Taxonomy
Shastasaurus was named by Merriam (1895). It is not extant. It is the type genus of Shastasaurinae.
It was assigned to Baptanodontidae by Hay (1902); to Merriamosauria by Maisch and Matzke (2000); to Ichthyosauria by Sepkoski (2002); to Shastasauridae by von Huene (1951), Kuhn (1971), Carroll (1988), Callaway and Massare (1989), Mcgowan (1994), McGowan and Motani (2003), Shang and Li (2009), Maisch (2010), Ji et al. (2013); and to Shastasaurinae by Merriam (1908), Hay (1930), Motani (1999), Ji et al. (2016).
It was assigned to Baptanodontidae by Hay (1902); to Merriamosauria by Maisch and Matzke (2000); to Ichthyosauria by Sepkoski (2002); to Shastasauridae by von Huene (1951), Kuhn (1971), Carroll (1988), Callaway and Massare (1989), Mcgowan (1994), McGowan and Motani (2003), Shang and Li (2009), Maisch (2010), Ji et al. (2013); and to Shastasaurinae by Merriam (1908), Hay (1930), Motani (1999), Ji et al. (2016).
Synonyms
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Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1895 | Shastasaurus Merriam |
| 1902 | Shastasaurus Hay p. 463 |
| 1908 | Shastasaurus Merriam p. 88 |
| 1916 | Shastasaurus merriami von Huene p. 30 |
| 1925 | Shastasaurus carinthiacus von Huene |
| 1930 | Shastasaurus Hay p. 126 |
| 1951 | Shastasaurus von Huene p. 90 |
| 1971 | Shastasaurus Kuhn p. 22 |
| 1971 | Shastasaurus merriami Kuhn p. 22 |
| 1972 | Shastasaurus nordensis Ochev |
| 1988 | Shastasaurus Carroll |
| 1989 | Shastasaurus Callaway and Massare p. 932 |
| 1994 | Shastasaurus Mcgowan p. 170 |
| 1999 | Shastasaurus Motani p. 480 |
| 2000 | Shastasaurus Maisch and Matzke p. 97 |
| 2002 | Shastasaurus Sepkoski |
| 2003 | Shastasaurus McGowan and Motani |
| 2009 | Shastasaurus Shang and Li p. 191 |
| 2010 | Shastasaurus Maisch |
| 2013 | Shastasaurus Ji et al. |
| 2016 | Shastasaurus Ji et al. p. 10 |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
G. †Shastasaurus Merriam 1895
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†Shastasaurus alexandrae Merriam 1902
†Shastasaurus careyi Merriam 1902
†Shastasaurus pacificus Merriam 1895
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Invalid names: Shastasaurus altispinus Merriam 1902 [synonym], Shastasaurus osmonti Merriam 1902 [synonym]
†Shastasaurus sikkaniensis Nicholls and Manabe 2004
Invalid names: Shastasaurus carinthiacus von Huene 1925 [nomen dubium], Shastasaurus merriami von Huene 1916 [nomen dubium], Shastasaurus nordensis Ochev 1972 [nomen dubium]
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| J. M. Callaway and J. A. Massare 1989 | "Medium to large ichthyosaurs with estimated lengths of 3-12 m; head relatively long, estimated at 23 percent of total body length; large, robust snout, estimated at approximately 70 percent of skull length, deep, wide, with nearly pointed tip; cheek region short, estimated at slightly < 11 percent of skull length; teeth conical, thecodont, numerous, closely spaced; 50-55 presacral vertebrae; centra short, length/ height ratios 0.28-0.61; centra deeply biconcave, portions of the column notochordal with centers of other centra very thin; dorsal neural spines high and rectangular, transverse diameters > 50 percent of anteroposterior widths; atlas anterior face convex with slight central concavity; axis with large parapophysis and diapophysis; coracoid pedunculate; scapula broadly expanded distally, proximal region of anterior margin notched; pubis with narrow, deep obturator notch; ilium robust, mid-shaft relatively wide anteroposteriorly, proximal end slightly broadened transversely; forelimb estimated to be 20-30 percent longer than hindlimb; limbs tridactyl, posterior epipodials and mesopodials relatively reduced, possibly indicating a tendency toward didactyly; humerus very short, length/width ratios 0.7-1.0, anterior and posterior margins notched or emarginated, dorsoventrally compressed; radius and ulna very short with length less than width, dorsoventrally compressed; metapodials and phalanges very short, discoidal or ellipsoidal, length less than
width for majority, dorsoventrally compressed." | |
| R. Motani 1999 | Radial with preaxial notch. | |
| M. W. Maisch and A. T. Matzke 2000 | "A large ichthyosaur, total length of adults exceeding 7 meters.
Isodontous dentition, teeth with mesial and distal carinae, premaxilla with long processus supranarialis forming entire dorsal margin of external naris, posterior portion of both maxilla and dentary edentulous, large, anteroposteriorly elongate orbit, relatively short postorbital skull segment (shorter than anteroposterior orbital diameter), anterior terrace of temporal fenestra very small, frontal forms part of it but does not contribute to anterior margin of temporal fenestra proper, lacrimal with a plethora of small nutritive foramina instead of big, large vascular foramen, jugal very robust and thick, supratemporal with high, short ramus anterior, postorbital forms maisch & matzke, the ichthyosauria 67 most of the lateral margin of the temporal fenestra internally and probably a short segment externally, so that postfrontal and supratemporal are (very probably) not in contact, temporal fenestra large, ramus occipitalis of parietal massive with rectangular cross section, expanded rugose parietal platform behind foramen parietale, palate with very small fenestra interpterygoidea, parasphenoid without obvious carotid entrance, artery probably entering between parasphenoid and basioccipital, basioccipital condyle convex or possibly saddle-shaped, probably more than 50 presacral and more than 10 cervical vertebrae, atlas centrum convex anteriorly with small concavity, cervical ribs dicephalous, thoracal, sacral and caudal ribs unicephalous, neural arches with high and robust processus spinosi in cervical and trunk region, rounded in cross section, often with strong anterior and posterior and weaker lateral ridges, scapula with reduced anterior but rather large posterior extension of blade, coracoid with anterior extension smaller than posterior one, humerus of subrectangular shape with small anterodorsally oriented caput and little development of crista deltopectoralis, humerus and radius anteriorly notched, radius and ulna very short, rectangular, with small spatium interosseum, intermedium apparently very small, pelvic girdle with pubis and ischium of similar size, pubis with posteriorly open obturator notch, ilium distally expanded, big spatium interosseum retained between tibia and fibula." | |
| Q.-H. Shang and C. Li 2009 | Posterior epipodials (ulna, fibula) very much smaller than their anterior counterparts (radius, tibia); humerus and radius anteriorly notched; posterior edge of radius and anterior edge of ulna very slightly concave; posterior and distal edges of ulna bluntly rounded; probably more than 60 presacral vertebrae and four principal digits. | |
| C. Ji et al. 2016 | Contact between nasal and postfrontal narrow; orbit anteroposteriorly elongated; cheek narrow; radiale anterior notchpresent. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: o = order | |||||
| Reference: Kiessling 2004 | |||||
Collections (9 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triassic | USA (California) | S. alexandrae, S. osmonti (153314) | |
| Carnian | USA (California) | S. altispinus (190855) S. pacificus (196798) S. sp. (152275) | |
| Carnian | Mexico (Sonora) | S. altispinus (102472 214415) | |
| Carnian - Norian | USA (California) | S. careyi (196803) | |
| Norian | USA (Oregon) | S. osmonti (140303) | |
| Alaunian | Canada (British Columbia) | Shonisaurus sikanniensis (97843) |