Name:
Gasosaurus (Greek for "gas lizard"); pronounced gas-oh-SORE-us
Habitat:
Woodlands of China
Historical Period:
Late Jurassic (160 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 13 feet long and 500 pounds
Diet:
Meat
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Large head; powerful legs; stiff tail
About Gasosaurus:
The only remains of the obscure but amusingly named Gasosaurus were discovered in 1985 by the employees of a Chinese gas-mining company. From the limited number of fossils, adding up to a single partial skeleton, paleontologists believe that Gasosaurus resembled a vastly scaled-down Allosaurus, its fellow (and more famous) theropod, though its arms were a bit longer compared to its overall size.
Because so few fossils of Gasosaurus have been located, it's possible that this dinosaur may have been misclassified--and is in fact a species, or a specimen, of Megalosaurus or Kaijiangosaurus. Only future discoveries can settle this issue for sure.
