Gojirasaurus

Gojirasaurus Temporal range: Late Triassic, 210 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Hypothetical restoration
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Theropoda
Superfamily:	†Coelophysoidea
Genus:	†Gojirasaurus Carpenter, 1997
Type species
†Gojirasaurus quayi Carpenter, 1997

Gojirasaurus (meaning "Godzilla Lizard") is a possibly dubious genus of dinosaur named after the giant monster movie character Gojira (the Japanese name for Godzilla).

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"; thus, "Godzilla lizard". In addition, a theropod dinosaur with the name Godzillasaurus exists in the Heisei era of Godzilla films. "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.

Gojirasaurus is one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs known from the Triassic Period, almost the size of its relative, the large coelophysoid Dilophosaurus. 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). 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 Specimen NMMNH P-4666 which consists of only a pubis, was referred to this genus by Hunt in 1994.