Gasosaurus

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Gasosaurus
Fossil range: Middle Jurassic

Mounted Gasosaurus skeleton on the left, at the Zigong museum.

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Theropoda
Infraorder:	Carnosauria?
Genus:	Gasosaurus Dong & Tang, 1985

Species

G. constructus Dong & Tang, 1985 (type)

Gasosaurus (Chinese: 气龙属) was a tetanuran dinosaur discovered in Dashanpu, China. The scientific name, meaning "Gas Lizard", honours the gasoline company that found the Dashanpu fossil quarry in Sichuan Province, now named as the Lower Shaximiao Formation. It had strong legs but short arms, and based on its relationship to other dinosaurs, it was probably a carnivore. It measured between 3.5 and 4 metres in length and 1.3 m in height, with a weight of around 150kg, placing it in the midrange of carnivores by size. However, some estimates put its weight as high as 400kg, as very little is known about this dinosaur. It lived during the mid-Jurassic period (Bathonian and Callovian stages), around 164 million years ago.

[edit] Discovery and species

Gasosaurus skeleton in Shanghai.

The first and to date only fossils, albeit postcranial (missing the skull), were recovered in 1985 during the construction of a gas facility, which explains the unusual name of the dinosaur. The fossils were defined as the type species Gasosaurus constructus by the paleontologists Dong Zhiming and Tang Zilu. There have still been very few fossils retrieved, so exact details are unknown. Specifically, no skull has been found. Some paleobotanists have speculated that Gasosaurus and Kaijiangosaurus may be one and the same species. A relation to Megalosaurus has also been suggested. Also, although current consensus is to place Gasosaurus in the group Carnosauria, it may in fact be the most basal Coelurosaurian yet known, or may even be a common ancestor of the two groups.

[edit] References

Creisler, B. (Fall 1994). "Chinese Dinosaurs: Naming the Dragons". The Dinosaur Report: pp. 16–17.
"Fantastic Facts About Dinosaurs" (ISBN 0-7525-3166-2)