Gorosaurus

Gorosaurus ゴロザウルス (Gorozaurusu) is a dinosaur created by Toho that first appeared in the 1967 Toho film, King Kong Escapes.

Name
Gorosaurus' name might be derived from the Japanese word "gorogoro", meaning "thunder", and the Greek word saurus, meaning lizard or reptile. Another possible explanation may be that it's an intentionally corrupted form of Gorgosaurus, as both names are extremely similar in both English and Japanese; however, no offical word has confirmed the origin of the name.

Appearance
Gorosaurus is a gray color all over, though in some highlights the color can change from a greenish tint or even a form of teal and blue, and has skin with pronounced scaly bumps. Gorosaurus has a row of triangular plates running down his back, as well as a bipedal stance, strong legs, fairly short arms, and a big head.

Origins
According to the Godzilla Movie Studio Tour, it said in Gorosaurus' bio that he is an abrupt descendant of Allosaurus. This is relevant to Gorosaurus' design, as most Allosauroid dinosaurs have a triangular-shaped head. It is also possible that Gorosaurus could be a part of the dinosaur group Carcharodontosauridae, which are closely related to the Allosaurus and succeeded their cousins in the later Cretaceous periods. This could mean that Gorosaurus survived the Cretaceous extinction event.

King Kong Escapes
Gorosaurus lived on Mondo Island when he attacked Susan Watson and tried to eat her. King Kong attacked him and saved her. Gorosaurus used his Kangaroo Kick multiple times on Kong, but he was defeated when Kong broke his jaw.

Destroy All Monsters
Gorosaurus was living on Monsterland when it was taken over by the Kilaaks. He was sent to attack Paris, and he was called back to Mount Fuji to guard the Kilaak Transmitter. After he was released from his mind control, he helped battle King Ghidorah, damaging the alien dragon's spine after he delivered a Kangaroo Kick to his back.

Go! Godman
Gorosaurus also appears in the series Go! Godman, as a one-time enemy of the eponymous Godman. Gorosaurus appeared in a town, and started wandering around, stepping on trees. Godman comes to fight, and the two spar. Godman ends up ripping off Gorosaurus's jaw.

The Gorosaurus suit here is in such poor shape that the inner support seems to be deteriorating. It makes Gorosaurus' torso look like its caving in. His jaw also flops open and shut, and appears to hang at a very slight angle.

Abilities
Aside from the usual tooth and claw, Gorosaurus has been noted for using a "kangaroo kick" against foes like King Kong and King Ghidorah. This is Gorosaurus' most popular trait. Also, in the 1968 film Destroy All Monsters, Gorosaurus is shown with the ability to burrow underground. This is the only incident where this ability is shown.

Gorosaurus' battle against King Ghidorah showed his strategies. While fighting, Godzilla and Anguirus attacked the two outermost heads as a distraction, which Gorosaurus used to sneak behind King Ghidorah; his blind spot. Gorosaurus kicks King Ghidorah down to the ground, where the other kaiju pin him down and finally kill him. Gorosaurus is also known for being just as strong or even stronger than Godzilla when it comes to muscle strength.

Filmography

 * King Kong Escapes
 * Destroy All Monsters
 * All Monsters Attack (Stock Footage)
 * Godzilla vs. Gigan (Stock Footage)
 * Go! Godman
 * Godzilla Island

Video Game Appearances

 * Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Gameboy)
 * Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!
 * Godzilla Movie Studio Tour
 * Godzilla: Trading Battle
 * Godzilla Generations

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
Gorosaurus was seen in a flash back that the Mothra Fairies told Lucy in an attempt to explain the origins of all monsters. Gorosaurus was seen devouring two full grown dinosaurs, a Tyrannosaurus and a Spinosaurus, which were about to fight over a downed Triceratops.

Before he could eat his meal, Megaguirus attacked him, but the Allosaurus-like monster kicked the dragonfly beast and knocked her out of the sky. Gorosaurus was later seen frozen next to Anguirus. He is also present in the 'Land' monsters section of a cave mural.

Later, Gorosaurus battles a horde of Trilopods who invade his home, and manages to hold them off. However, he is beaten down, and a Beta Trilopod gains some of his blood, taking on some of the dinosaur's characteristics. Gorosaurus is then subdued, and taken to the Trilopod Hive, where he remains until King Caesar arrives and breaks him and the other monsters out. Gorosaurus assists in the fight with Magita, and then travels to the ocean with Godzilla and the others after Magita is defeated.

Roar
In King Kong Escapes, much like Baragon, Gorosaurus' roar is also another modified Varan roar, but was more sped up and pitched. Gorosaurus' roar is also created from the chirp of Rodan, another one of Toho's gifted monsters.

In Gorosaurus' protagonistic role in Destroy All Monsters, Gorosaurus still was the same, but this time Toho had edited the roar and deepened, plus slowed the roar, to make the new Gorosaurus sound older. Gorosaurus is one of the very few monsters to be gifted with one of Godzilla's roars, during the fight with King Ghidorah. Gorosaurus also had several roars from other Toho monsters in Destroy All Monsters. Toho blended and higher pitched a particular chirp from Ebirah at the beginning of the roar. Coincidentally, Gorosaurus had one of Varan's unaltered roars at the time it destroyed the Arc de Triumph in France.

In Other Languages

 * Spanish: Gorosaurio
 * Russian: Горозавр
 * Chinese: 哥罗龙 (Gē luō lóng)

Trivia

 * Gorosaurus was strangely shown to be burrowing in Paris in Destroy All Monsters. This role was originally intended for Baragon, however the Baragon suit was on loan to Tsuburaya Productions for use in the Ultraman series. Toho instead replaced him with Gorosaurus, having Gorosaurus "borrow" Baragon's burrowing ability. Gorosaurus was even referred to as "Baragon." By the end of the film's production, Baragon's suit was replaced and repaired, but he could only make a short cameo because the filming of scenes was almost over.
 * Gorosaurus is one of the three Godzilla monsters that have "saurus" in their names. The other two are Titanosaurus and Godzillasaurus.
 * Gorosaurus' role in King Kong Escapes is similar to the Tyrannosaurus that fought King Kong in the 1933 film.
 * According to Nobuyuki Yasumaru, the creator of Gorosaurus, Gorosaurus was one of Eiji Tsuburaya's favorite monsters.
 * Gorosaurus was the first monster Nobuyuki created. He later went on to create suits for Ultraman and Ultra Q.
 * Originally in the production King Kong Escapes, suit maker Ryosaku Takayama was assigned in making Gorosaurus, but his concept of the monster was too pure and seemed at most wouldn't best fit Toho's special effects, as implied by Nobuyuki. Nobuyuki decided to create the Gorosaurus suit in his own concept.
 * Gorosaurus appeared in the poster of All Monsters Attack, but he doesn't appear in the actual film, aside from a brief stock footage appearance.

Poll
Do you like Gorosaurus? Yes! No. Kind of.

Gorosaurus