ZoomDinosaurs.com Dinosaur and Paleontology Dictionary

SHALE Shale is a type of rock that is formed from clay that has been pressed into thin sheets.

SHAMOSAURUS (pronounced SHAM-oh-SAWR-us) Shamosaurus (meaning "desert lizard") was an armored, plant-eating dinosaur (an Ankylosaurid ankylosaur) from the early Cretaceous period. Shamosaurus was roughly 23 ft (7 m) long. Three partial fossils were found in the Gobi desert in Mongolia. The type species is S. scutatus. It was named by paleontologist Tumanova in 1983.

SHANSHANOSAURUS (pronounced SHAHN-SHAHN-oh-SAWR-us) Shanshanosaurus (meaning "Shanshan (China) lizard") was a meat-eating dinosaur (an advanced theropod and perhaps a tyrannosaurid) from the late Cretaceous period. This predator was roughly 6.5-10 ft (2-3 m) long. A partial fossil was found in NW China. The type species is S. huoyanshanensis. It was named by paleontologist Dong in 1977.

SHANTUNGOSAURUS (pronounced SHAHN-DUNG-oh-SAWR-us) Shantungosaurus (meaning "Shandong lizard") is the largest-known duck-billed dinosaur (a hadrosaur) from the late Cretaceous period, about 83 to 73 million years ago. This beaked plant-eater was about 38-48 ft (12-15 m) long. It had a wide, flat head and is very similar to Edmontosaurus. They type species is S. giganteus. 5 incomplete skeletons were found in China. It was named by paleontologist Hu in 1973.

SHANXIA (pronounced shahn-SHEEH-ah) Shanxia (named after Shanxi Province, China) was an armored, plant-eating dinosaur about 11.5 ft (3.5 m) long. This ankylosaur dates from the late Cretaceous period. The type species is S. tianzhenensis. A partial skeleton was found in China. Shanxia was named by Barrett, You, Upchurch, and Burton in 1998.

SHAROVIPTERYX (pronounced shahr-ov-IP-ter-iks) Sharovipteryx (meaning "Sharov's wings"), aka Podopteryx, was a Pterosauromorpha (a gliding thecodont, a pre-pterosaur) from the early Triassic period, about 245 million years ago. Sharovipteryx was a gliding animal that used its uropatagium, a small, fibrous flap of skin that stretched from the very long legs and the tail. It had large eyes, a long snout, and small triangular teeth. A single fossil (together with some skin impressions) was found in Madygen, Kirghizia, Asia. Sharovipteryx was named by Cowen in 1981 (to honor the paleontologist Alexander Sharov, who found the fossil in 1971, and originally called it Podopteryx). The type species is S. mirabilis.

SHIVA CRATER The Shiva crater is a huge impact crater located under the Arabian Sea off the coast of India near Bombay. This crater dates from the K-T boundary, 65 million years ago, when the Chicxulub crater at the tip of the Yucatán Peninsula also formed. Although it has shifted because of sea floor spreading, when pieced together it would be about 370 miles (600 km) by 280 miles (450 km) across and 7.5 miles (12 km) deep (and may be just part of a larger crater). It is estimated to have been made by a bolide (an asteroid or meteoroid) 25 miles (40 km) in diameter. This crater was named by the paleontologist Sankar Chatterjee for Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and renewal.

SHOCKED QUARTZ Shocked quartz is quartz that has undergone deformation due to extreme pressure and heat. It has been found in the layer that marks the K-T boundary, lending credence to the Alvarez impact theory.

SHONISAURUS Shonisaurus was an Ichthyosaur about 49 feet (15 m) long. It had a huge, whale-like body, four fin-like flippers, a dorsal fin, a fish-like tail, and teeth (only in the front of the jaws). It lived during the late Triassic period in what is now North America. It was not a dinosaur, but another type of extinct reptile that lived during the time of the dinosaurs.

SHUNOSAURUS (pronounced SHOO-noh-SAWR-us) Shunosaurus (meaning "Sechuan lizard;" Sechuan is a province in China) was a sauropod dinosaur about 40 feet (11 m) long. It is the only sauropod known that had a bony club at the end of its tail, formed by enlarged vertebrae. This small tail club had two small spines on it and was probably used for defense. It was a quadrupedal plant eater with a long tail, a long neck, a small head, a massive body and relatively short legs. It lived during the mid-Jurassic period, about 175 million to 163 million years ago. Fossils include 20 skeletons (with 5 skulls) found in China. It was named by Chinese paleontologists Dong, Zhou & Zhang in 1983.

SHUVOSAURUS (pronounced SHOE-voh-SAWR-us) Shuvosaurus (meaning "Shuvo's lizard;" named for Shuvo, the discoverer of the fossil and the son of Chatterjee) was a 10 ft (3 m) long bipedal reptile from the late Triassic period. At first, this reptile was thought to be an ornithomimid dinosuar, but is now thought to be a rauisuchian thecodont. Shuvosaurus was named by paleontologist Sankar Chatterjee in 1993. Only the fossilized toothless skull was found in the Dockum Formation, Texas, USA. The type species is S. inexpectatus.

Shuvuuia SHUVUUIA Shuvuuia (from the Mongolian word for bird) was a 10 ft (3 m) long bird-like dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous period. It was a fast-running, bird-like, chicken-sized dinosaur. Shuvuuia had a pointed beak (that could open very wide), tiny teeth, long legs, short arms, a long tail, and only one functional finger (clawed, of course) on each hand. Shuvuuia was named by paleontologists Chiappe, Norell and Clark in 1998. Two skulls and some bones have been found in the Gobi Desert, Asia. The type species is S. deserti.

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