Gasosaurus
genus of reptiles (fossil)
Gasosaurus () is a genus of tetanuran theropod that lived approximately 171.6 to 161.2 million years ago during the middle of the Jurassic Period. The name "Gasosaurus" is derived from the English "gasoline" and the Greek σαῦρος (sauros) ("lizard / generic reptile"). Only one species is currently recognised, G. constructus, from which the specific name honours the gasoline company that found the Dashanpu fossil quarry in Sichuan Province, China, now named as the Lower Shaximiao Formation.
Discovery and naming
The first and to date only fossils, albeit postcranial (missing the skull), were recovered in 1985 during the construction of a gas facility, which explains the dinosaur's unusual name. It consists of laterally compressed teeth, 4 cervical, 7 dorsal, 5 sacral, and 7 caudal vertebrae, both humeri, and highly abraded and reconstructed pelvic and hind limb material that includes the left ilium, left ischium, left pubis, left femur, left tibia and left fibula. The fossils were defined as the type species Gasosaurus constructus by the paleontologists Dong Zhiming and Tang Zilu.
Description
Gasosaurus is a carnivorous theropod with strong legs but short arms. It measured between 3.5 to 4 metres (11 to 13 ft) in length, with a weight of around 150 kilograms (330 lb). However, some estimates put its weight as high as 400 kilograms (880 lb), as very little is known about it.
Many potentially informative features of the holotype skeleton (IVPP V7264) are difficult to assess based on published descriptions and images.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Gasosaurus” is genus of reptiles (fossil). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Gasosaurus, genus and reptiles, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “genus of reptiles (fossil)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q131771. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1985.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gasosaurus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.