An Anatomical Guide to Godzilla and other Gigantic Japanese Monsters

These amazing diagrams showing a medical cross–section of Godzilla along with other Japanese monsters such as Mothra, Gamera and Agurius. These illustrations were created in 1967 by Shogo Endo for a book called ‘An Anatomical Guide to Monsters’. This cult book was crafted by Shoji Otomo (writer) along with Shogo Endo (illustrator) (1967). An Anatomical Guide to Monsters has long since gone out of print.

If Godzilla were real, he would be an incredible biological specimen

Although I can only guess at what the captions for these anatomical diagrams say (any Japanese friends want to fill me in?) the geeks over at Popular Mechanics have devised some quasi-scientific methods for guessing at the biomechanics of Godzilla.

The radioactive, chaos-spawning kaiju of terror

Since his first awakening, the radioactive, fire-spewing kaiju has grown to 60 metres tall and filled out to around 150,000 tonnes. Godzilla is now 30 stories tall and weighs as much as a cruise ship. No actual animal could take the pressure of being so massive: It would overheat, its organs would implode, and it would need to mainline elephant steaks to get enough energy.

Weight: 164,000 tonnes

Based on a methodology devised by paleontologists to work out the mass of bipedal dinosaurs. This would make Godzilla bigger than the heaviest dinosaur we know of Argentinosaurus who clocks in at 100 tonnes.

Metabolism: 1.4 megawatts

This is the same amount of power you would get from a large wind turbine in Wellington. In the throes of destruction, fighting Mothra for example or ripping apart a cruise ship, he would generate about 37 megawatts of power. Enough to power a small town in New Zealand.

Bone strength: 300 MPa

Compared to our bones which can handle about 150 megapascals, Godzilla’s bones can withstand the same amount of pressure found 60 miles below the earth.

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Read more at Popular Mechanics