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Cope, 1878. Diracodon Marsh, 1881. Stegosaurus ( / ˌstɛɡəˈsɔːrəs /; [2] lit. 'roof-lizard') is a genus of herbivorous, four-legged, armored dinosaur from the Late Jurassic, characterized by the distinctive kite-shaped upright plates along their backs and spikes on their tails.
Jun 3, 2024 · Stegosaurus, (genus Stegosaurus), one of the various plated dinosaurs (Stegosauria) of the Late Jurassic Period (159 million to 144 million years ago) recognizable by its spiked tail and series of large triangular bony plates along the back.
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- Bob Strauss
- Stegosaurus Had a Brain the Size of a Walnut. Given its size, Stegosaurus was equipped with an unusually small brain, comparable to that of a modern golden retriever—which gave it an extremely low "encephalization quotient," or EQ.
- Paleontologists Once Thought Stegosaurus Had a Brain in Its Butt. Early naturalists had a hard time wrapping their minds around the diminutive size of Stegosaurus' brain.
- The Spiked Tail of Stegosaurus Is Called a 'Thagomizer' Way back in 1982, a famous "Far Side" cartoon depicted a group of cavemen clustered around a picture of a Stegosaurus tail; one of them points to the sharp spikes and says, "Now this end is called the thagomizer ...
- There's a Lot We Don't Know About Stegosaurus' Plates. The name Stegosaurus means "roofed lizard," reflecting the belief of 19th-century paleontologists that this dinosaur's plates lay flat along its back, like a form of armor.
Learn about Stegosaurus, a dinosaur with two rows of plates on its back and a spiky tail. Find out why it had these features, how it defended itself, and what its brain was like.
- Description of The Stegosaurus
- Interesting Facts About The Stegosaurus
- Habitat of The Stegosaurus
- Distribution of The Stegosaurus
- Diet of The Stegosaurus
- Stegosaurus and Human Interaction
- Stegosaurus Care
- Behavior of The Stegosaurus
- Reproduction of The Stegosaurus
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There were three different species of Stegosaurus, but all were relatively similar looking. Overall, these creatures were short, stout, and powerfully built. They walked on four short legs, had small heads, and long tails capped with defensive spines. A line of flattened, plate-like spines ran down their backs. The largest species could grow nearly...
Though they were large by our standards, the other dinosaurs that roamed while Stegosaurus was alive dwarfed it. Simply put, 150 million years ago, some incredibly large creatures walked the earth. Learn how Stegosaurus survived below. 1. Plate Debate – Scientists still aren’t quite sure what the large plates along the back of this dinosaur were ac...
Fossils of this dinosaur are actually relatively rare, and because of this we can only speculate the other habitats this creature lived in. Archaeologists found the most specimens in the Morrison Formation, which we have decent information about the ecosystem of during that time. We know they lived in areas that were semiarid, with a wet season and...
Determining the extent of this creature’s range is difficult to do, because their fossils are somewhat rare. Researchers found many North American specimens in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. They found other fossils in Europe, China, Africa, and India. This suggests that the different Stegosaurus species were relatively widespread.
We know that this dinosaur was herbivorous based upon its teeth. However, it has some pretty oddly shaped teeth and jaws. Scientists aren’t exactly sure how they chewed and foraged for food, because their mouth is simply, weird. They do estimate that they fed on a number of different plant types, including ferns, moss, fruits, cycads, conifers, and...
Stegosaurus went extinct around 150 million years ago, and never lived while humans were on earth. The only interactions between Stegosaurus and humans are in movies and television. These are, of course, digital or animatronic dinosaurs.
In a zoological setting, these creatures would probably require care similar to rhinos or elephants. They are powerful animals, and would need strongly reinforced fencing for their enclosures. Browsing on a wide variety of plants would be essential. Because they had very small brains, reliance on environmental enrichment would be much less pressing...
Unfortunately, fossils do not provide much insight into the behavior of an animal. We can use rock formations to determine habitat, and damaged fossils to speculate interactions between animals, but beyond that all behavior is speculative. These creatures were large, and had incredibly small brains. It is likely that their life consisted pretty muc...
We know very little about the reproduction of these dinosaurs. Scientists believe they reproduced sexually, via mating, and laid eggs. Some theories suggest that the large plates on their back could change color as a mating display or to attract a female. As to the number of eggs, incubation time, and parental care, we simply don’t know yet.
Learn about the Stegosaurus, a short, stout dinosaur with large plates on its back and a tail spike. Find out how it lived, what it ate, and why it went extinct 150 million years ago.
Identified as a member of the species Stegosaurus stenops, this spectacular specimen is helping researchers gain new insights into what Stegosaurus would have looked like when it was alive, as well as how it walked, ate and behaved.
stegosaur, any of the plated dinosaur species, including Stegosaurus and Tuojiangosaurus of the Late Jurassic period (about 161 million to 146 million years ago) and Wuerhosaurus of the Early Cretaceous (about 146 million to 100 million years ago).
