Chilesaurus
Chilesaurus diegosuarezi
Chilesaurus is an extinct genus of herbivorous dinosaur. While its exact classification is uncertain, many researchers believe it is a theropod, with a minority of academics suggesting that it may be an ornithischian. The type and only known species so far is Chilesaurus diegosuarezi. Chilesaurus lived between 148-147 million years ago (Mya) in the Late Jurassic period of Chile. Showing a combination of traits from theropods, ornithischians, and sauropodomorphs, this genus has far-reaching implications for the evolution of dinosaurs, such as whether the traditional saurischian-ornithischian split is superior or inferior to the proposed group Ornithoscelida. This however, has been contested by several other authors, who believe that the weight of evidence supports its membership within Theropoda, and possibly as a member of Tetanurae.
- Family
- Chilesauridae
- Order
- Ornithischia
- Period
- Jurassic (149.2–145.0 Ma)
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Length
- 3.0–4.5 m
- Weight
- 70–120 kg
- Type locality
- Toqui Formation, Aysén, Chile
- Holotype
- SNGM-1935
- PBDB
- txn:319906