Chungkingosaurus
Chungkingosaurus, meaning "Chongqing Lizard", is a herbivorous dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic Shaximiao Formation in what is now China. It is a member of the Stegosauria.
| Chungkingosaurus | |
|---|---|
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| Mounted skeleton | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | Ornithischia |
| Family: | Huayangosauridae |
| Genus: | Chungkingosaurus Dong et al., 1983 |
| Species: | C. jiangbeiensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Chungkingosaurus jiangbeiensis Dong et al., 1983
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It was one of the smallest stegosaurs with a length of less than four metres, but it was apparently an adult, judging by the ossification of the sacrum.
At first, all of the stegosaurs came from the Lower Cretaceous, but this one is earlier. It seems obvious that the plates were used as defence, but temperature regulation and mate attraction have been proposed.[1]
Chungkingosaurus Media
Size comparison of the Upper Jurassic Chinese huayangosaurid stegosaur Chungkingosaurus jiangbeiensis. The unknown regions were restored with Huayangosaurus. Many other specimens have been referred to Chungkingosaurus as novel species, but these are no longer assigned to this genus. The human silhouette is from
- Silhouette of man standing and facing forward.svg (CC0).*
Life reconstruction of Chungkingosaurus jiangbeiensis
References
- ↑ Dong Zhiming 1992. Dinosaurian faunas of China. China Ocean Press, Beijing. ISBN 3-540-52084-8