Chinlea

Chinlea
Temporal range: Late Triassic
Restoration
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Sarcopterygii
Class: Actinistia
Order: Coelacanthiformes
Suborder: Latimerioidei
Family: Mawsoniidae
Genus: Chinlea
Schaeffer, 1967
Species
  • Chinlea sorenseni

Chinlea is an extinct genus of late Triassic Mawsoniid coelacanth fish found in and named after the Chinle Formation that crops out in the southwestern states of Arizona and New Mexico.  The word “Chinle” comes from the Navajo word meaning "flowing out", referencing the location where water flows out of the Canyon de Chelly. They were also possibly found in the Dockum Group.