This is Ray's paleo-fantasy of looking out the window of a boat dreaming of a Triassic ocean full of giant ichthyosaurs, thalattosaurs, and ammonites.

Ray and Kirk traveled through Southeast Alaska on their friend Barth Hamberg's boat called the Nakwasina. The big Shonisaurus, drawn to scale right below the boat, is known to have grown to the incredible length of 70 feet. It's thought to be the largest marine reptile of all time!

This large vertebra came from an extinct marine reptile called an ichthyosaur, which means "fish reptile". This specimen was found on an island in Southeast Alaska in 2003 and is probably belongs to the genus Shonisaurus. It is estimated that this vertebra belonged to an ichthyosaur that may have been nearly 50 feet long.

Jim Baichtal, U.S. Forest Service geologist, found this large fossil rib section in 2013 on Gravina island near Ketchikan. It's estimated that these ribs belonged to a large ichthyosaur, most likely Shonisaurus, in the 70-foot range. That's much longer than a school bus!