Gojirasaurus
Gojirasaurus (meaning "Godzilla Lizard")[1] is a dubious genus of dinosaur named after the giant monster movie character Gojira (the Japanese name for Godzilla).
Etymology[]
The composite term Gojirasaurus is derived from the name of the giant Japanese movie monster "Gojira" (Godzilla) and the Greek word "sauros" (σαυρος) meaning "lizard";[2] thus, "Gojira lizard". "Gojira" was selected as a reference to the great size of this theropod, which exceeded that of its Triassic counterparts. The specific name "quayi", is a reference to Quay County, New Mexico, where the holotype specimen was discovered. Gojirasaurus was described and named by Kenneth Carpenter in 1997 and the type species is Gojirasaurus quayi.
Description[]
Gojirasaurus is one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs known from the Triassic Period, almost the size of its relative, the large coelophysoid, Dilophosaurus.[3][4] The size of its tibia was 469 mm, which was comparable to that of Liliensternus (409 mm) and Dilophosaurus (555 mm), suggesting that it was a large Triassic dinosaur, estimated to be about 5.5 m (18 ft) long, which can be extrapolated to a weight of approximately 150–200 kg (330–440 lb).[5] Carpenter (1997) pointed to features of the pelvis and ankle suggesting that this was an immature individual, and could therefore have grown to even a larger size in maturity[1] Specimen NMMNH P-4666 which consists of only a pubis, was referred to this genus by Hunt in 1994.