Outline: a typical early dinosaur
Chindesaurus
CHIN-dee-SORE-us
- Lived
- 227 to 206 million years ago, Late Triassic
- Length
- about 4 m (13 ft)
- Group
- Early dinosaurs
- Found in
- United States
- Named by
- Long and Murry 1995
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical early dinosaur shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
220 million years ago
Field notes
About Chindesaurus
What it was like
Chindesaurus was an early two-legged predator known from a partial skeleton. It had long, slender legs and was probably a quick hunter of small animals. It may be related to Herrerasaurus, but its exact place among early dinosaurs is still debated.
Its world
It lived in the Late Triassic in what is now Arizona. Its bones come from the Chinle Formation, a land of rivers and forests where early dinosaurs lived alongside much larger reptiles.
How it was found
Long and Murry named Chindesaurus in 1995. The name comes from a place near where it was found.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
Close relatives
Other members of Saurischia
Sources: WikidataNamed in: R. A. Long and P. A. Murry. 1995. Late Triassic (Carnian and Norian) Tetrapods from the Southwestern United States. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 4:1-254