Gasosaurus
Name:
Gasosaurus
(Gas lizard).
Phonetic: Ga-so-sore-us.
Named By: Z. Dong & Z. Tang - 1985.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Theropoda, Allosauroidea, Sinraptoridae.
Species: G. constructus
(type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Estimated between 3.5 and 4 meters
long.
Known locations: China, Sichuan Province -
Lower Shaximiao Formation.
Time period: Bathonian to Callovian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Only known from post cranial
remains, skull is still unknown.
Gasosaurus was named in honour of the gasoline company that found the Lower Shaximiao Formation, then known as the Dashanpu fossil quarry. Since its naming Gasosaurus has been the subject of uncertainty regarding its validity and position. There have been claims that it may the same as a slightly older genus called Kaijiangosaurus that is also from the same formation, and like this it has been considered to be a megalosauroid. Gasosaurus has also been considered to be one of the earliest known coelurosaurs, the group of theropods that would go on to produce the tyrannosaurs. Most still credit Gasosaurus as being a member of the Sinraptoridae, the theropod group typified by the genus Sinraptor which is a sub group of the Allosauroidea (theropods similar to Allosaurus).
Further reading
- A new Mid-Jurassic theropod (Gasosaurus constructus
gen et sp. nov.)
from Dashanpu, Zigong, Sichuan Province, China. - Vertebrata
PalAsiatica. 23(1), 77-82. - Z. Dong & Z. Tang - 1985.
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