''Mengshanosaurus'' is an
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
choristodere
Choristodera (from the Greek χωριστός ''chōristos'' + δέρη ''dérē'', 'separated neck') is an extinct order of semiaquatic diapsid reptiles that ranged from the Middle Jurassic, or possibly Triassic, to the late Miocene (168 to 1 ...
from the
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pro ...
Meng-Yin Formation
The Meng-Yin or Mengyin Formation () is a geological formation in Shandong, China, whose strata date back to the Berriasian and Valanginian stages of the Early Cretaceous.[China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...]
. The type and only known species is ''M. minimus,'' known from a juvenile skull, around 3.5 cm long. It was found to be the basalmost
neochoristodere.
References
{{Eureptilia, S.
Choristodera
Prehistoric reptile genera
Fossil taxa described in 2021