Gojirasaurus

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Gojirasaurus
Gojirasaurus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Superorder: Dinosauria Order: Saurischia Suborder: Theropoda Infraorder: Ceratosauria Family: Coelophysidae Genus: Gojirasaurus Carpenter, 1997
Species
G. quayi Carpenter, 1997 (type)

Gojirasaurus is a genus of dinosaur named after Gojira (the Japanese name for Godzilla). It was discovered in Revuelto Creek, Quay County, New Mexico. The type specimen is a partial skeleton of a subadult, about 5.5 m (18 ft) long, which can be extrapolated to a weight of approximately 150–200 kg (330–440 lb). An adult would have been around 6.5 m (21 ft) long. It lived during the Norian age of the Late Triassic Period, between 220 and 209 million years ago.

Gojirasaurus was a member of the Coelophysoidea, which were small, early theropods. Gojirasaurus was perhaps the largest meat-eating dinosaur known from the Triassic Period and enormous for its time. A serrated tooth, four ribs, four vertebrae, and a few other bones have been uncovered.

[edit] References

• Gojirasaurus in The Dinosaur Encyclopaedia at Dino Russ' Lair