Stegosaurus
STEG-oh-SAWR-us
Stegosaurus is one of the most famous dinosaurs ever to have existed, thanks to the distinctive upright plates and spikes that adorn its back and tail. As Stegosaurus shared its habitat with many large predators including Ceratosaurus and Allosaurus, it required a method of defending itself – the long spikes on its tail allow it to lash out at attackers, although the back plates are believed to be for display when attracting a mate.
Discovery
Famous American paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh was the first to classify Stegosaurus as a new genus in 1877, after fossils were found near to the Morrison Formation in Colorado. Marsh named the new genus Stegosaurus, which translates to ‘roof lizard’, because the back plates were initially believed to lie horizontal like roof tiles.
Palaeoecology
Stegosaurus lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period, around 145-155m years ago, roaming the vast, dry plains in search of low-lying vegetation such as trees, ferns and plants. It co-existed with many genera, including the fearsome Allosaurus, Camarasaurus and Diplodocus.
Information
- Era
- Late Jurassic
- Family
- Stegosauridae
- Genus
- Stegosaurus
- Height
- 5M
- Length
- 10.1M
- Weight
- 3.5T
- Diet
- Ground Paleobotany
- Egg batch size
- 2 - 3
