Monkonosaurus

Monko lizard

• Monko · Tibetan/Chinese place name · Monko (Markam County, Tibet)
• saurus · Greek · lizard

The name combines "Monko," a reference to the Monko (or Mangkang/Markam) district of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China, where the fossil remains were discovered, with the Greek word "sauros," meaning lizard. The name therefore means "lizard from Monko." It was named to highlight the geographic origin of this unusual stegosaur from the Tibetan plateau.

Named by

Zhao

Year named

1986

Period

Late Jurassic

Stage

Tithonian

Found in

Lura Formation, Markam County (Monko), Tibet Autonomous Region, China

Monkonosaurus lawulacus is the only species. It is a stegosaurid dinosaur known from very fragmentary remains (partial vertebrae and pelvis), which is why it is widely considered a nomen dubium — the material is insufficient to confidently diagnose it as a distinct genus. It was described by Zhao in 1986 (published formally in 1983 by some accounts) and represents one of the few dinosaurs known from Tibet.