X-Ray Mag

Nevada

3D-model image of the Shonisaurus popularis fossil bed at Quarry 2 in Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, Nevada. Fossilised bones have been color-coded, with each color corresponding to a different skeleton.
3D-model image of the Shonisaurus popularis fossil bed at Quarry 2 in Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, Nevada. Fossilised bones have been color-coded, with each color corresponding to a different skeleton.

Fossil bed in national forest in Nevada may have been breeding ground for ichthyosaurs

1 year ago By Catherine GS Lim

In the Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, there is a fossil bed in which many ichthyosaurs (Shonisaurus popularis) have been found petrified in stone.

Over the years, there has been speculation that they had perished in a mass stranding incident or due to a nearby algal bloom. While these were possible, there had not been strong evidence to support these theories.

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