G. capensis was named in 1911 by
Scottish physician and
paleontologist Robert Broom from a partial skeleton consisting of eleven
dorsal and six
caudal vertebrae,
ribs,
gastralia, partial right
scapula, right
pelvic girdle, left
ilium, and most of the right leg, discovered in the
Upper Elliot Formation of
Orange Free State,
South Africa. Originally, he thought the specimen belonged to the dubious genus
Hortalotarsus. but Michael Cooper synonymized it with
Massospondylus in 1981, which has been generally accepted.
"G." sinensis was named by
Yang Zhongjian (C.C. Young) in 1941 for four specimens including jaw fragments and postcranial material from the
Early Jurassic Lufeng Formation of
Yunnan Province,
China. In 1976, Galton referred it to
Lufengosaurus, while
Dong Zhiming referred it to
Anchisaurus in 1992. Galton and Upchurch (2004) considered it to be a valid, distinct taxon in need of a new generic name. Unpublished results of a presentation by Wang and colleagues at the SVP 2017 conference indicate that
"G." sinensis is a junior synonym of
Lufengosaurus huenei; however, some referred specimens need further study to determine their relationships. Wang, Zhao & You (2024) agreed with this assessment. ==References==