Gasosaurus
"gas lizard"
- Lived
- 171 to 155 million years ago, Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Length
- about 4 m (13 ft)
- Group
- Theropods
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Dong and Tang 1985
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical theropod shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
165 million years ago
Habitat
Sandstone and mudstone in the Shaximiao Formation record a landscape that probably included shallow lakes. Shunosaurus and Huayangosaurus also lived in this region.
Field notes
About Gasosaurus
What it was like
Gasosaurus was a mid-sized theropod about 4 meters (13 feet) long, a two-legged meat eater. Only part of its skeleton is known, and no skull, so its looks and exact place on the family tree are uncertain.
Its world
It lived in the Jurassic, in what is now China. It comes from the Shaximiao Formation, home to the long-necked Mamenchisaurus and Shunosaurus, the stegosaurs Huayangosaurus and Tuojiangosaurus, and the larger predator Yangchuanosaurus.
How it was found
Dong and Tang named Gasosaurus in 1985. Its unusual name honors the gas company whose work uncovered the fossils.
Field gallery
More views of Gasosaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 2
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Gasosaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Gasosaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A partial skeleton includes vertebrae, an upper arm bone, parts of the hips and hind legs.
- The hip bones place it in the broad theropod group that includes Allosaurus and birds.
Borrowed from relatives
- Its missing head and hands are restored by comparison with better-known theropods such as Allosaurus.
Still unknown
- Its exact place within the theropod family tree.
- The shape of its skull and teeth.
- Its skin covering and color.
Discovery timeline
- 1985Named itDong & Tang
- 2012Family treeCarrano, Benson & Sampson
- 2022Same rocksDai et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Gasosaurus
Named it
Named Gasosaurus from a partial theropod skeleton found in China.
A new Mid-Jurassic theropod (<i>Gasosaurus constructus</i> gen. et sp. nov.) from Dashanpu, Zigong, Sichuan Province, China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 23: 77-83
No link available
Family tree
Reviewed the damaged bones and identified Gasosaurus as a tetanuran theropod, probably outside the branch that includes birds.
The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10: 211-300
Read the paper : The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda) (opens in a new tab)Same rocks
Described a new sauropod from the lower Shaximiao Formation and reviewed the rocks and diverse long-necked dinosaurs of the region.
New macronarian from the Middle Jurassic of Chongqing, China: phylogenetic and biogeographic implications for neosauropod dinosaur evolution. Royal Society Open Science 9
Read the paper : New macronarian from the Middle Jurassic of Chongqing, China: phylogenetic and biogeographic implications for neosauropod dinosaur evolution (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Tetanurae
Sources: Wikidata