Chindesaurus

Chinde lizard (ghost lizard)

• Chinde · Navajo · ghost, spirit (also the name of Chinde Point)
• sauros · Greek · lizard

Chindesaurus combines "Chinde" with the Greek word for "lizard". Chinde is a Navajo word usually translated as "ghost" or "evil spirit". It refers to Chinde Point in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, near where the first fossils were found. The type species, C. bryansmalli, honours Bryan Small, who found the specimen.

Named by

Long and Murry

Year named

1995

Period

Late Triassic

Found in

Petrified Forest Member, Chinle Formation, Arizona (and possibly New Mexico), USA

Valid genus of early dinosaur, generally regarded as a herrerasaurid or other basal saurischian. Its material is fragmentary, and some specimens once referred to it have been questioned. Exact placement is debated.