Chromogisaurus was first named by
Martín Daniel Ezcurra in 2010, and the type species is
Chromogisaurus novasi. The generic name is derived from
Greek chroma, "colour", and
gè, "earth", a reference to the
Valle Pintado, the "Painted Valley". The
specific name honours
Fernando Emilio Novas. The
holotype, PVSJ 845, was found in the Cancha de Bochas Member of the
Ischigualasto Formation, dating to the
Carnian. This makes
Chromogisaurus one of the oldest known
dinosaurs. The specimen consists of a partial skeleton lacking the skull, with elements of the front and hind limbs, as well as the pelvis and two caudal vertebrae. A
cladistic analysis by Ezcurra indicated that
Chromogisaurus was a member of a
clade basal
sauropodomorphs, the
Guaibasauridae, together with
Guaibasaurus, the disputed
Agnosphitys,
Panphagia and
Saturnalia. Within Guaibasauridae, it forms a smaller clade with its sister taxon
Saturnalia, the
Saturnaliinae. == References ==