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You don't know about this dinosaur, you don't know what it was like, but I certainly do. He is close by, and he watches over all of us. I'm not sure where he hides, but he can see us, and if we ever become helpless and desperate, the dinosaur will come back to us and save us from tragedy and disaster, just as it did before on that doomed World War II battlefield we once faced.
― Masukichi Ikehata, (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah)
Overview

Godzillasaurus (ゴジラザウルス,   Gojirazaurusu?) is a species of theropod dinosaur created by Toho that first appeared in the 1991 Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.


Design[]

Appearance[]

The Godzillasaurus is different from other theropods because its posture is more upright like a human, and it drags its tail on the ground, much like older theropod reconstructions. At 12 meters in height, it is much larger than any other theropod species, probably due to its erect posture.

It has a smaller head than a real theropod, and has a double-row of teeth, much like a shark. The Godzillasaurus species is also different from other theropod dinosaurs due to the fact that it possesses a second, or "sacral", brain located in its hip to control lower body functions, much like how the Stegosaurus was mistaken to have had a second brain. Godzillasaurus is also shown to possess tear ducts, as shown when Baby Godzilla is seen crying when Azusa Gojo is forced to leave him behind.

As is shown in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzillasauruses seem to be telepathic, as Baby Godzilla can contact his father and Rodan telepathically. Since at this point Baby Godzilla had not yet been mutated, it is possible that all Godzillasauruses naturally have this ability. Professor Omae suggests that it is possible Godzillasauruses acted as brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species, due to the presence of Baby Godzilla's egg in a Pteranodon nest.

Roar[]

Like many other monsters in the Heisei era, the Godzillasaurus' roar was "borrowed" from other kaiju: Rodan, extremely slowed down, and Gamera, slightly sped up, when he screams in agony.

History[]

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah[]

The Godzillasaurus lived on Lagos Island in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, and was attacked by American soldiers during World War II. This was observed by some of the Futurians and a group of people from the present that had traveled back in time to remove Godzilla from history.

The Godzillasaurus fought off the Americans, seemingly 'defending' a bastion of Japanese soldiers who were on the island at the time, but was gravely wounded after multiple naval ships bombarded it with shells and missiles. Badly injured, the Godzillasaurus fell to the ground. After the Japanese soldiers paid their respects and left, the Futurians transported the injured dinosaur to the Bering Sea, thinking that they had successfully altered the present day.

However, this was not to be the case, as a nuclear submarine crash in the Bering Sea provided the energy to turn the Godzillasaurus into Godzilla, thus preventing the timeline from changing.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II[]

Main article: Godzilla Junior.

Another Godzillasaurus, named Baby Godzilla, was found in Rodan's nest on Adonoa Island in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. This infant Godzillasaurus was raised by U.N.G.C.C. scientists and imprinted on a scientist named Azusa Gojo as its mother, but was adopted by Godzilla after Azusa was forced to part ways with him.

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla[]

Baby Godzilla lived with his new adopted father on Birth Island, where he was exposed to his radiation and mutated into Little Godzilla.

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah[]

As a toddler, Little Godzilla was already much larger than the seemingly adult Godzillasaurus found on Lagos Island. After living on the island for a year, Little Godzilla was exposed to a massive dose of radiation when uranium deposits on Birth Island ignited and exploded, mutating him into a sub-adult Godzilla dubbed Godzilla Junior.

Godzilla Junior attempted to return to his birthplace on Adonoa Island, but was lured to Tokyo so that Godzilla would follow and battle the monster Destoroyah.

Eventually, Junior was killed by Destoroyah, and the grieving Godzilla fought and killed Destoroyah with the help of G-Force. When Godzilla died of a catastrophic meltdown in his heart, the radiation he released was absorbed by Junior, reviving him and transforming him into a new Godzilla.

Abilities[]

Durability, Physical strength and Stamina[]

Despite its relatively modest dimensions, measuring approximately 12 meters in height and 20 meters in length, the Godzillasaurus that would eventually transform into Godzilla exhibited remarkable strength and endurance. It demonstrated an exceptional level of resistance, as conventional firearms and even rocket launchers proved ineffective in causing harm. Only the concentrated barrage of multiple battleships managed to breach its defenses and inflict wounds that resulted in visible bleeding. Despite sustaining substantial damage from the battleships, it displayed the ability to recover and resume its assault on the beachgoers, eventually retreating from the beach. It then exhibited sufficient stamina to traverse the jungle and ultimately succumb to its injuries, lying weakly on the ground as its life force waned.

Video games[]

Godzilla (2014 video game)[]

A relic species of an ancient living being that once roamed all over the northern hemisphere. It is suspected that a living organism on the Island of Lagos in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean was later transformed into Godzilla. Though omnivorous and gentle, it has a habit of bravely confronting adversaries who dare step foot in its territory. Accounts of it repulsing advancing U.S. G.I.s from the island during the Pacific War endure to this very day.

Originally, the production team planned to have a Tyrannosaurus rex turn into Godzilla. However, this was shifted to the Godzillasaurus concept at the recommendation of the designers.
Godzillasaurus Kaiju Guide bio

In other languages[]

  • Spanish: Godzillasaurio
  • Russian: Годзиллазавр
  • Portuguese: Godzillassauro
  • Italian: Godzillasauro
  • French: Godzillasaure

Trivia[]

  • GojiraWhale

    The Mosasaurus from Terasawa's book

    An alternate origin theory was presented for Godzilla within the book "Godzilla: A History", made by Kenichiro Terasawa. He was mutated from a whale, or Mosasaurus, that had Godzilla's dorsal plates.
  • An actual species of dinosaur was named the Gojirasaurus quayi, in homage to Godzilla himself. However, this "Godzillasaurus" bears only a slight resemblance to its movie counterpart, and is a dubious genus - which means that it may be a different type of dinosaur altogether.
  • Before his mutation, Godzilla, as the Godzillasaurus, did not have dorsal plates (the most significant visual change upon his mutation) but Baby Godzilla possesses them even before his mutation.
  • In the original Godzilla film, it was theorized that the Godzillasaurus (unnamed at the time) had originally been an amphibious life form, living in underwater caverns.
  • According to an interview with special effects designer Shinji Nishikawa, Godzilla was originally written to be a Tyrannosaurus prior to being mutated. Nishikawa, however, said he couldn't accept the idea that Godzilla was mutated from a Tyrannosaurus, so he came up with the idea for the Godzillasaurus and submitted concept art of it to Toho, who put it into the script for Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.[2]
  • In Legendary Pictures' Godzilla, Godzilla's species were giant, prehistoric amphibious reptiles that evolved when Earth had ten times more radiation than it has today. As opposed to being a mutant, Legendary's Godzilla is rather a natural creature that feeds on radiation and radioactive material.
  • In Omni Productions' English dub of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Baby Godzilla is inexplicably called a "Godzillasaur" rather than a Godzillasaurus.

List of appearances[]

Films[]

Video games[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Official Godzilla Compendium. Profiles of the Monsters; Page 128.
  2. Shinji Nishikawa Interview
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