It is unusual as it is much more primitive than other known choristoderes from the Early Cretaceous of Asia, and retains many plesiomorphic characters.

The type specimens are represented by the blocks IVPP V25322, 25323 and 25324, were discovered in September 2003 at the Badaohao locality, in Heishan County, Liaoning Province, China, in sediments belonging to the Shahai Formation.

The skull retains an open lower temporal fenestra, as in Cteniogenys, Coeruleodraco and neochoristoderes, but which is closed in the majority of Early Cretaceous Asian "non-neochoristoderans".

[1] In a strict consensus phylogenetic analysis, it was recovered as a basal choristodere, more derived than Cteniogenys, but more primitive than neochoristoderes or the weakly supported clade containing all other Asian Early Cretaceous "non-neochoristoderans" with closed lower temporal fenestrae, which was informally named the "allochoristoderes" in the study.

Heishanosaurus pygmaeus Coeruleodraco jurassicus Ikechosaurus pijiagouensis Ikechosaurus sunailinae Tchoiria namsari Tchoiria klauseni C. gigas C. albertensis S. lemoinei S. dakotensis Monjurosuchus splendens Philydrosaurus proseilus L. inexpectatus Lazarussuchus sp.