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Gojirasaurus

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This article is about the dinosaur. For the fictional character also known as "Godzillasaurus", see Godzilla.

Gojirasaurus
Temporal range: Late Triassic, "Revueltian" (mid-late Norian), 212 Ma
↓
Scale and skeletal diagram
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Genus: †Gojirasaurus
Carpenter, 1997
Species:
†G. quayi
Binomial name
†Gojirasaurus quayi
Carpenter, 1997
Synonyms
  • †"Revueltoraptor lucasi"
    Hunt, 1994

Gojirasaurus (meaning "Godzilla lizard")[1] is a genus of "coelophysoid" theropod dinosaur from the Late Triassic of New Mexico. It is named after the giant monster movie character Godzilla (Hepburn: Gojira), and contains a single species, Gojirasaurus quayi.

Discovery

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Gojirasaurus quayi was described and named by Kenneth Carpenter in 1997 based on a partial skeleton, the holotype specimen UCM 47221, from Quay County, New Mexico. The holotype is an assortment of various postcranial bones, including a right scapula, right pubis, left tibia, left metatarsal V,[2] four vertebral centra, a neural arch, and fragments of ribs and gastralia.[1] In addition, a single large serrated tooth is associated with the postcranial material. The holotype is housed in the collections of the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, in Boulder, Colorado.[1]

The specimen hails from purplish-grey mudstones of the Bull Canyon Formation (sometimes called the Cooper Canyon Formation), a major fossiliferous component of the Dockum Group in eastern New Mexico. In particular, it was found at a site in the vicinity of Revuelto Creek, the type locality for the Revueltian "faunachron".[3] The Revueltian is a biostratigraphic unit roughly equivalent to the mid-late Norian stage of the Triassic Period, approximately 215–207 million years ago.[4] The Revuelto Creek fossils were deposited in the earlier part of the Revueltian, close to around 212 million years ago.[5]

Though it would not be formally named until 1997, the fossils of Gojirasaurus were frequently mentioned through the 1980s and 1990s, as a robust Coelophysis-like theropod from Revuelto Creek.[6][7] Among these preliminary accounts is a short description by Parrish & Carpenter (1986).[8] In 1994, an unpublished thesis by Adrian Hunt attempted to name the Revuelto Creek theropod as "Revueltoraptor lucasi". Hunt's conception of the species included not just UCM 47221, but also numerous theropod-like fossils stored at the NMMNH (New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science). As a name, "Revueltoraptor lucasi" was never formally published, and later evaluations recognized that most of Hunt's additional fossils are likely from Shuvosaurus rather than theropods.[1]

Etymology

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The generic name Gojirasaurus is derived from the name of the giant Japanese movie monster "Gojira" (Godzilla) and the Greek word "sauros" (σαυρος) meaning "lizard";[9] thus, "Godzilla lizard". Carpenter (1997) selected "Gojira" in reference to the relatively large size of this theropod, which exceeded that of its Triassic counterparts. The specific name quayi, is a reference to Quay County.[1]

Description

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Speculative life restoration

Gojirasaurus is one of the largest theropods known from the Triassic Period, with an estimate total length of 5.5–6 metres (18–20 ft) long and a weight of at least 150 kilograms (330 lb).[1][10] Benson et al. (2018) estimated that it weighed around 190 kilograms (420 lb), only exceeded by Herrerasaurus among Triassic carnivorous dinosaurs.[11] 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] Christopher T. Griffin (2019) and Griffin and Nesbitt (2020) confirmed that Gojirasaurus possessed features indicative of ontogenetic immaturity.[2][12]

Distinguishing anatomical features

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According to Nesbitt et al. (2007), Gojirasaurus can be distinguished based on the fact that its tibia is more robust than that of its relative Coelophysis. Rauhut (2003) attempted to diagnose this genus based on the fact that the mid/posterior dorsal vertebrae had taller neural spines than those observed in other coelophysoids.[13]

Griffin (2019) followed Nesbitt (2007)'s diagnosis on Gojirasaurus and distinguishes it from Megapnosaurus and Dilophosaurus based on several characteristics of metatarsal V.[2]

Classification

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Parrish and Carpenter (1986) drew similarities between UCM 47221 and "Halticosaurus liliensterni", a large German theropod now known as Liliensternus. Both were assigned to the family "Procompsognathidae", though the authors acknowledged that family names in use at the time were provisional and likely to be obsolete in the future.[8] Conversely, Hunt (1994) and Hunt et al. (1998)[14] argued that the specimen is a herrerasaurid, alongside various other fossils from the Late Triassic of North America.[15][16] The formal naming and description of Gojirasaurus by Carpenter (1997) firmly classified it within Coelophysoidea. Many traits were comparable to Coelophysis, Dilophosaurus, and particularly Liliensternus.[1]

Various phylogenetic analyses in the 2000s supported coelophysoid affinities for Gojirasaurus, close to or among the smaller Coelophysidae rather than with Dilophosaurus.[13][17][18][19][20] Many studies noted that its remains are too fragmentary for further elaboration. Starting with Yates (2005), the monophyly of Coelophysoidea has been brought into question, with Dilophosaurus resolving as more closely related to averostrans (non-coelophysoid theropods).[18] In some analyses, Gojirasaurus maintains its position among the coelophysids,[18] but other studies instead bring it over to the lineage leading to Dilophosaurus and averostrans.[21][22][23]

Validity

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A persistent question regarding Gojirasaurus quayi is how much of its fossil material actually belongs to one species.[15] Gojirasaurus coexisted with Shuvosaurus, an unusual reptile with a toothless beak and bipedal stance. Though previously regarded as an aberrant dinosaur, by 2007 most specialists agreed that Shuvosaurus was actually more closely related to crocodilians, and that its dinosaur-like traits are merely convergent.[24] According to Nesbitt et al. (2007), some components of UCM 47221, such as the tibia and pubis, are clearly coelophysoid in form and distinct from Shuvosaurus.[15] However, other parts of the skeleton, such as the scapula and vertebrae, are not readily distinguishable from Shuvosaurus.[15] The serrated tooth could be from any number of large carnivorous archosaurs which inhabited the area.[15]

Even the assuredly coelophysoid components of the skeleton have few unambiguous unique features. For example, the robust tibia is similar to Coelophysis-like fossils which Padian (1986) described from Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, only differing in size.[25][15][16] Several studies regard Gojirasaurus as a "metataxon": a collection of fossils for which assignment to a single species can neither be proven nor disproven.[13][15] Nevertheless, Gojirasaurus persists in the scientific literature as a useful example of a large Triassic coelophysoid, validity notwithstanding.[11][2][12]

Paleoecology

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Main article: Bull Canyon Formation

Gojirasaurus's assignment to the Coelophysoidea would suggest that it was a bipedal, terrestrial, actively mobile carnivore.

The Revuelto Creek area preserves a diverse fauna of both terrestrial and aquatic animals from the Bull Canyon Formation.[6][8][7][26] On land, herbivorous pseudosuchians are quite common, including the shuvosaurid Shuvosaurus inexpectatus,[26] the aetosaurs Typothorax coccinarum,[7][26] Paratypothorax,[7] and Rioarribasuchus,[27] and the small aetosauriform Revueltosaurus callenderi.[28] Both Shuvosaurus and Revueltosaurus have previously been misidentified as dinosaurs.[7][26]

Among terrestrial carnivores, Gojirasaurus was joined by at least a few other true dinosaurus. Bull Canyon dinosaur fragments are sometimes identified as coelophysids, herrerasaurids,[26] and/or Chindesaurus,[7] but most are too fragmentary to assess in great detail.[15][2][5] Lepidosauromorphs, crocodylomorphs, and large carnivorous "rauisuchians" are also represented by rare fragments.[26] Particularly robust archosauromorph limb fragments, previously thought to be from a late-surviving rhynchosaur ("Otischalkia"),[7][26] are probably from malerisaurine azendohsaurids instead.[29] The early turtle Chinlechelys tenertesta is a notable component of the terrestrial fauna.[30][31]

Phytosaur fossils are common at Revuelto Creek. One particularly impressive phytosaur skull was initially referred to "Rutiodon" (Smilosuchus) gregorii,[6][8] and later to "Arribasuchus" buceros.[7] It and other Bull Canyon phytosaur remains most likely belong to a species of Machaeroprosopus (Pseudopalatus).[26][32] Small metoposaurid amphibians, sometimes identified as "Apachesaurus gregorii",[7][26] frequent the area alongside larger metoposaurids.[6][26] Various fish inhabited the waterways: arganodontid lungfish, coelacanths (Quayia zideki), and actinopterygians.[6][26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Carpenter, Kenneth (13 August 1997). "A Giant Coelophysoid (Ceratosauria) Theropod from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico, USA". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 205 (2): 189–208. doi:10.1127/njgpa/205/1997/189. ISSN 0077-7749.
  2. ^ a b c d e Griffin, Christopher T. (September 2019). "Large neotheropods from the Upper Triassic of North America and the early evolution of large theropod body sizes". Journal of Paleontology. 93 (5): 1010–1030. Bibcode:2019JPal...93.1010G. doi:10.1017/jpa.2019.13. ISSN 0022-3360.
  3. ^ Lucas, Spencer G (1 November 1998). "Global Triassic tetrapod biostratigraphy and biochronology". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 143 (4): 347–384. Bibcode:1998PPP...143..347L. doi:10.1016/S0031-0182(98)00117-5. ISSN 0031-0182.
  4. ^ Martz, J. W.; Parker, W. G. (1 January 2017), Zeigler, Kate E.; Parker, William G. (eds.), "Revised Formulation of the Late Triassic Land Vertebrate "Faunachrons" of Western North America: Recommendations for Codifying Nascent Systems of Vertebrate Biochronology", Terrestrial Depositional Systems, Elsevier, pp. 39–125, ISBN 978-0-12-803243-5, retrieved 28 August 2022
  5. ^ a b Marsh, Adam D.; Parker, William G. (12 November 2020). "New dinosauromorph specimens from Petrified Forest National Park and a global biostratigraphic review of Triassic dinosauromorph body fossils" (PDF). PaleoBios. 37: 1–56. doi:10.5070/p9371050859. ISSN 2373-8189.
  6. ^ a b c d e Carpenter, Kenneth; Parrish, Michael (1985). "Late Triassic Vertebrates from Revuelto Creek, Quay County, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, 36th Field Conference, Santa Rosa: 197–198.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Long, Robert A.; Murry, Phillip A. (1995). "Late Triassic (Carnian and Norian) tetrapods from the Southwestern United States". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 4: 1–254.
  8. ^ a b c d Parrish, Michael; Carpenter, Kenneth (1986). "A new vertebrate fauna from the Dockum Formation (Late Triassic) of eastern New Mexico". In Padian, Kevin (ed.). The Beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 151–160. ISBN 0521303281.
  9. ^ Liddell, Henry George and Robert Scott (1980). A Greek-English Lexicon (Abridged ed.). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-910207-5.
  10. ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2010). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-691-13720-9.
  11. ^ a b Benson, Roger B. J.; Hunt, Gene; Carrano, Matthew T.; Campione, Nicolás (2018). Mannion, Philip (ed.). "Cope's rule and the adaptive landscape of dinosaur body size evolution". Palaeontology. 61 (1): 13–48. Bibcode:2018Palgy..61...13B. doi:10.1111/pala.12329. ISSN 0031-0239.
  12. ^ a b Griffin, Christopher T.; Nesbitt, Sterling J. (2020). "Does the Maximum Body Size of Theropods Increase across the Triassic–Jurassic Boundary? Integrating Ontogeny, Phylogeny, and Body Size". The Anatomical Record. 303 (4): 1158–1169. doi:10.1002/ar.24130. ISSN 1932-8486. PMID 30968581.
  13. ^ a b c Rauhut, Oliver W.M. (2003). "The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs" (PDF). Special Papers in Palaeontology. 69: 1–213.
  14. ^ Hunt, Adrian P.; Lucas, Spencer G.; Heckert, Andrew B.; Sullivan, Robert M.; Lockley, Martin G. (1998). "Late Triassic dinosaurs from the western United States" (PDF). Geobios. 31 (4): 511–531. Bibcode:1998Geobi..31..511H. doi:10.1016/S0016-6995(98)80123-X.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Irmis, Randall B.; Parker, William G. (June 2007). "A critical re-evaluation of the Late Triassic dinosaur taxa of North America" (PDF). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 5 (2): 209–243. Bibcode:2007JSPal...5..209N. doi:10.1017/S1477201907002040. S2CID 28782207.
  16. ^ a b Mortimer, Mickey (2012). "Coelophysoidea". The Theropod Database.
  17. ^ Tykoski, R.S. & Rowe, T. (2004). "Ceratosauria". In: Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., & Osmolska, H. (Eds.) The Dinosauria (2nd edition). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 47–70 ISBN 0-520-24209-2
  18. ^ a b c Yates, Adam M. (2005). "A new theropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of South Africa and its implications for the early evolution of theropods" (PDF). Palaeontologia Africana. 41: 105–122.
  19. ^ Carrano, Matthew T.; Hutchinson, John R.; Sampson, Scott D. (30 December 2005). "New information on Segisaurus halli, a small theropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of Arizona". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 25 (4): 835–849. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0835:niosha]2.0.co;2. ISSN 0272-4634.
  20. ^ Ezcurra, Martin D.; Novas, Fernando E. (2007). "Phylogenetic relationships of the Triassic theropod Zupaysaurus rougieri from NW Argentina". Historical Biology. 19 (1): 35–72. Bibcode:2007HBio...19...35E. doi:10.1080/08912960600845791. ISSN 0891-2963.
  21. ^ Ezcurra, Martín D; Butler, Richard J; Maidment, Susannah C R; Sansom, Ivan J; Meade, Luke E; Radley, Jonathan D (1 January 2021). "A revision of the early neotheropod genus Sarcosaurus from the Early Jurassic (Hettangian–Sinemurian) of central England". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 191 (1): 113–149. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa054. hdl:11336/160038. ISSN 0024-4082.
  22. ^ Spiekman, Stephan N. F.; Ezcurra, Martín D.; Butler, Richard J.; Fraser, Nicholas C.; Maidment, Susannah C. R. (2021). "Pendraig milnerae , a new small-sized coelophysoid theropod from the Late Triassic of Wales". Royal Society Open Science. 8 (10). Bibcode:2021RSOS....810915S. doi:10.1098/rsos.210915. ISSN 2054-5703. PMC 8493203. PMID 34754500.
  23. ^ Ezcurra, Martín D.; Marke, Daniel; Walsh, Stig A.; Brusatte, Stephen L. (20 November 2023). "A revision of the 'coelophysoid-grade' theropod specimen from the Lower Jurassic of the Isle of Skye (Scotland )". Scottish Journal of Geology. 59 (1–2): 012. Bibcode:2023ScJG...59...12E. doi:10.1144/sjg2023-012. ISSN 0036-9276.
  24. ^ Lucas, Spencer G.; Spielmann, Justin A.; Hunt, Adrian P. (2007). "Taxonomy of Shuvosaurus, a Late Triassic archosaur from the Chinle Group, American Southwest". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 41: 259–261.
  25. ^ Padian, Kevin (1986). "On the type material of Coelophysis Cope (Saurischia: Theropoda) and a new specimen from the Petrified Forest of Arizona (Late Triassic: Chinle Formation)". In Padian, Kevin (ed.). The Beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 45–60. ISBN 0521303281.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Hunt, Adrian P. (2001). "The vertebrate fauna, biostratigraphy and biochronology of the type Revultian land vertebrate faunachron, Bull Canyon Formation (Upper Triassic), east-central New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, 52nd Field Conference, Geology of the Llano Estacado. New Mexico Geological Society: 123–151. doi:10.56577/FFC-52.123. ISBN 978-1-58546-087-8.
  27. '^ Parker, W. G. (2007). "Reassessment of the aetosaur Desmatosuchus' chamaensis with a reanalysis of the phylogeny of the Aetosauria (Archosauria:Pseudosuchia)" (PDF). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 5 (1): 41–68. Bibcode:2007JSPal...5...41P. doi:10.1017/S1477201906001994. S2CID 85826683.
  28. ^ Parker, William G.; Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Irmis, Randall B.; Martz, Jeffrey W.; Marsh, Adam D.; Brown, Matthew A.; Stocker, Michelle R.; Werning, Sarah (2022). "Osteology and relationships of Revueltosaurus callenderi (Archosauria: Suchia) from the Upper Triassic (Norian) Chinle Formation of Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, United States". The Anatomical Record. 305 (10): 2353–2414. doi:10.1002/ar.24757. ISSN 1932-8486. PMC 9544919. PMID 34585850.
  29. ^ Christian A. Sidor; Marsh, Adam D.; Smith, Elliot Armour (30 May 2024). "THE ALLOKOTOSAUR (REPTILIA: ARCHOSAUROMORPHA) ASSEMBLAGE FROM A MULTITAXIC BONEBED IN THE SONSELA MEMBER (JIM CAMP WASH BEDS, CHINLE FORMATION) AT PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK, U.S.A." Lithodendron: The Science and History Journal of Petrified Forest National Park. 1 (Spring 2024): 95–118. doi:10.69575/FAIY7658.
  30. ^ Joyce, W.G.; Lucas, S.G.; Scheyer, T.M.; Heckert, A.B.; Hunt, A.P. (2009). "A thin-shelled reptile from the Late Triassic of North America and the origin of the turtle shell". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 276 (1656): 507–513. doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.1196. ISSN 1471-2954. JSTOR 30244885. PMC 2664348. PMID 18842543.
  31. ^ Lichtig, A. J.; Lucas, S. G. (2021). "Chinlechelys from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico, USA, and the origin of turtles". Palaeontologia Electronica. 24 (1): Article number 24.1.a13. doi:10.26879/886.
  32. ^ Hunt, Adrian P.; Lucas, Spencer G.; Spielmann, Justin A. (2006). "Sexual dimorphism in a large brachyrostral phytosaur (Archosauria: Crurotarsi) from the Late Triassic of western North America". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 37: 563–567.
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