Named By: | Ye vide Dong in 1992 |
Time Period: | Early Jurassic |
Location: | China - Fengjiahe Formation |
Size: | Estimated to be about 12 to 13 meters long |
Diet: | Herbivore |
Fossil(s): | Dentary (lower jaw bone) and partial post cranial remains |
Classification: | | Chordata | Reptilia | Dinosauria | Saurischia | Sauropoda | |
Chinshakiangosaurus (meaning "Chinshakian lizard") is a genus of dinosaur and probably one of the most basal sauropods known. The only species, Chinshakiangosaurus chunghoensis, is known from a fragmentary skeleton found in Lower Jurassic rocks in China. Chinshakiangosaurus is one of the few basal sauropods with preserved skull bones and therefore important for the understanding of the early evolution of this group. It shows that early sauropods may have possessed fleshy cheeks.