Chungkingosaurus is a Stegosaur from late Jurassic China. It is about 11.5 feet long (3.5 meters) and is a fairly small Stegosaur.
Description[]

Size comparison
According to Dong et al ., The Chungkingosaurus jiangbeiensis holotype was one of the smallest stegosaurs with a length of less than four metres (about thirteen feet), even though it was apparently an adult, judging by the ossification of the sacrum. Chungkingosaurus sp. 1 was estimated at five metres; Chungkingosaurus sp. 2 was seen as longer than five metres. Chungkingosaurus strongly resembled Tuojiangosaurus, found in the same formation, in many anatomical details. Chungkingosaurus was different in its smaller size, deeper snout and front lower jaws (resulting in a relatively high and narrow skull), and non-overlapping teeth with less pronounced denticles.
Chungkingosaurus probably possessed two rows of plates and spikes on its back, which were arranged in pairs, but the total number is unknown. A skeleton model in the Chongqing Municipal museum shows fourteen pairs of plates. This model also has two pairs of tail spikes. The plates of Chungkingosaurus have a thickened middle section, as if they were modified spikes. The plates resemble those of Tuojiangosaurus. The form of the thagomizer, the tail end spikes used as a defensive weapon, is only known from specimen CV 00208. It preserves two pairs of obliquely vertical, rather stout, spikes. A third pair to the front of these was originally present but lost during the excavation. A unique feature is the presence of an additional pair at the very tail end, consisting of long thin spikes oriented almost horizontally and obliquely to the sides and rear in top view. Paul described this kind of thagomizer as a "pin-cushion array". The thagomizer of Tuojiangosaurus is not known from articulated remains.
Discovery and species[]

Life restoration
The type species, Chungkingosaurus jiangbeiensis, was found near Chongqing, China. in 1977 and described by Dong Zhiming, Zhou Shiwu, and Chang Yihong in 1983. There were many stegosaurs found in China in 1977 (the year Chungkingosaurus was found), but Chungkingosaurus was the smallest of these. The generic name refers to Chonqqing in Sichuan. The specific name refers to Jiangbei District.
The holotype, CV 00206 , was found in the Chunking Group of the Upper Shaximiao Formation. It consists of a partial skeleton, containing the snout, the front part of the lower jaws, ten dorsal vertebrae, a pelvis with sacrum, a set of twenty-three tail vertebrae, the lower end of a humerus, three metacarpals, both thigh and shin bones, and five rear plates.
Dong et al. in 1983 described three additional species. These were not named separately, but identified as Chungkingosaurus sp. 1, 2, and 3. Chungkingosaurus sp. 1 was based on specimen CV 00207 , a pelvis with sacrum. The next species, Chungkingosaurus sp. 2 , was based on specimen CV 00205 , a partial skeleton. The last species, Chungkingosaurus sp. 3 , was based on specimen CV 00208 , a series of ten tail vertebrae with an articulated thagomizer. In 2014, Roman Ulansky named CV 00205 Chungkingosaurus giganticus and CV 00205 as Chungkingosaurus magnus . Peter Malcolm Galton and Kenneth Carpenter later identified both as nomina dubia , referring them both to C. jiangbeiensis .
In 2006, Susannah Maidment and Wei Guangbiao considered Chungkingosaurus a valid genus, even though much of the material could no longer be located. Specimen CV 00207 was no longer referred to Chungkingosaurus . However, Gregory S. Paul in 2010 suggested that Chungkingosaurus was the juvenile of Tuojiangosaurus.
Classification[]
Chungkingosaurus was placed in 1983 within Stegosaurinae by Dong et al. . In 2006, Maidment & Wei considered it a basal member of Stegosauria. In 2008, Maidment et al . assigned it to the Huayangosauridae.
Paleobiology[]
Like all stegosaurs, it was a herbivore. Chungkingosaurus had spiny plates on its back, which were arranged in pairs, but the total number is unknown. A specimen in the Chongqing Municipal museum is represented as having 14 pairs of plates. This specimen also had two pairs of tail spikes.
Paleoecology[]
Chungkingosaurus lived during the Late Jurassic period, approximately 163 to 150 million years ago, across much of Asia – in particular the Chongqing and Guizhou region of China. It roamed forest areas alongside many giant sauropods like Mamenchisaurus and Omeisaurus, the large predators Yangchuanosaurus and Szechuanosaurus, as well as other stegosaurs such as Tuojiangosaurus, Gigantspinosaurus, and Chialingosaurus.
Dinosaur Earth Description[]
Chungkingosaurus was a moderate sized dinosaur from the same family as Stegosaurus. It is known from only a single individual, so not a whole lot is understood about this creature. The plates along its back were spike like, and it had 4 or 5 pair of tail spikes, pointed to the rear of the animal. Three additional specimens have been tentatively referred to this genus. It is considered a primitive form of the stegosaur.