Plates in the skin
The back plates were osteoderms: bones formed in the skin rather than extensions of the spine.
A REAL DINOSAUR. A SUSPICIOUSLY FAMILIAR PERSONALITY.
STEGOSAURUS.
Strong boundaries. Decorative exterior..
You have your own taste, your own pace, and absolutely no interest in the committee's opinion. Your calm exterior comes with an extensive security system.
SIGNATURE MOVEBeing unbothered, with spikes.
SPECIMEN 03 / LATE JURASSIC
STEGOSAURUS STENOPS · HERBIVORE
STEGOSAURUS STENOPS · HERBIVOREFred Wierum · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Meet the actual dinosaur THE ACTUAL SCIENCE STARTS HERE
Meet the real Stegosaurus.
The jokes are ours.
The animal was very real.
- WHEN
- 155–150 million years ago
- ON THE MENU
- Herbivore
- LENGTH
- 6–9 m
- BODY MASS
- About 3–5 tonnes
A serious tail
Four long tail spikes formed a weapon often called a thagomizer, a name borrowed from a cartoon.
Low-level dining
Its small head, beak, and low browsing height fit a diet of vegetation close to the ground.
Unequal limbs
Longer hind limbs than forelimbs gave the back its strongly sloping outline.
No second brain
An enlarged space in the hip vertebrae inspired an old ‘second brain’ story. It was not another brain.
Morrison resident
Stegosaurus fossils occur in the Morrison Formation, alongside sauropods such as Diplodocus and theropods such as Allosaurus.
A little room for discovery.
The plates may have helped with display or species recognition; how much they contributed to heat exchange remains debated.
Read more: Stegosaurus on Wikipedia · Research and references. Facts are summarized in our own words. Size and date ranges are approximate; estimates vary by specimen and study. Gallery images may include other species within the genus.
A closer look.
Fossils, museum displays, and published reconstructions. Artwork shows an interpretation; it is not a photograph of a living dinosaur.
Is this your prehistoric alter ego?
Eight questions and an optional face scan will settle this. Very unofficially.