Kyrgyzsaurus

Kyrgyzsaurus Temporal range: Middle-Upper Triassic, 230–225 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	†Protorosauria
Family:	†Drepanosauridae
Genus:	†Kyrgyzsaurus Alifanov & Kurochkin, 2011
Species:	†K. bukhanchenkoi
Binomial name
Kyrgyzsaurus bukhanchenkoi Alifanov & Kurochkin, 2011

Kyrgyzsaurus is an extinct genus of drepanosaurid archosauromorph known from the Triassic of southwestern Kyrgyzstan.^[1]

Discovery

Kyrgyzsaurus is known only from the holotype specimen, the anterior part of the skeleton including the skull, cervical and anterior dorsal vertebrae, ribs, pectoral girdle and skin imprints. The holotype was collected from the Madygen Formation, dating to the late Carnian or the early Ladinian stage of the late Middle or the early Late Triassic period, about 230-225 million years ago. Thus it represents the oldest known drepanosaurid. Kyrgyzsaurus represents also the first Asian drepanosaurid genus to be named.^[1]

Etymology

Kyrgyzsaurus was first named by V. R. Alifanov and E. N. Kurochkin in 2011 and the type species is Kyrgyzsaurus bukhanchenkoi. The generic name is derived from the name of Kyrgyzstan, and from Greek sauros, "lizard", thus, the name means "Kyrgyzstan's lizard". The specific name honours Bukhanchenko for finding the holotype.^[1]

References