Name:
Chungkingosaurus (Greek for "Chungking lizard"); pronounced CHUNG-king-oh-SORE-us
Habitat:
Woodlands of Asia
Historical Period:
Late Jurassic (160 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 13 feet long and 500 pounds
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Small size; spike-like plates; narrow head
About Chungkingosaurus:
As stegosaurs go, Chungkingosaurus appears to have been unusually primitive, with long, squat upper arms and relatively unevolved hip bones. This small stegosaur's plates were long and pointed, like spikes, and it may have had five spikes on its tail (compared to the usual four for later stegosaurs). Otherwise, like its close relative Chialingosaurus, Chungkingosaurus appears to have been a low browser, grazing on the ferns and cycads that littered the forest floors during the late Jurassic period.
