Named By: | Q. Pang and Z. Cheng in 1998 |
Time Period: | Late Cretaceous |
Location: | China, Shanxi Province - Huiquanpu Formation |
Size: | Skull about 28 centimetres long. Body length estimated about 4 meters long |
Diet: | Herbivore |
Fossil(s): | Complete skull and post cranial skeleton |
Classification: | | Chordata | Reptilia | Dinosauria | Ornithischia | Thyreophora | Ankylosauria | Ankylosauridae | Ankylosaurinae | |
Tianzhenosaurus (Tianzhen + Greek sauros="lizard") is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur discovered in Tianzhen County, at Kangdailiang near Zhaojiagou Village, in Shanxi Province, China, in the Late Cretaceous Huiquanpu Formation. Thus far, a virtually complete skull and postcranial skeleton have been assigned to the genus, which is monotypic (T. youngi Pang & Cheng, 1998).
This was a medium-sized ankylosaurian, the skull measuring 28 centimetres (11 in) in length, with a total body length of approximately 4 metres (13 ft).
Vickaryous et al. (2004) placed Tianzhenosaurus within the Ankylosauridae, nested as the sister group to Pinacosaurus. Some authors have suggested that Tianzhenosaurus is actually a junior synonym of Saichania chulsanensis.