Stegosaurus is one of the most recognizable dinosaurs because of its tail spikes and double rows of plates on its back. The remains of over 80 individuals have been identified in the upper Morrison Formation with at least three individual species identified. It was a large, heavily built, herbivorous quadruped with an unusual posture. It had a rounded back, short forelimbs which held the head low to the ground and a stiffened tail held in the air. The purpose of its plates and spikes have been met with much speculation. The spikes were most likely used defensively, while the plates were also defensive mechanism, as well as having display and heat regulatory functions.
|Full Name||Stegosaurus Ungulates|
|Name Means||Roof Lizard|
|Period||Late Jurassic 155 - 150 million years ago|
|Size||30 feet (9 meters) long|
|Weight||3.5 tons / 3.17 metric tonnes|
|Discoverer||O. C. Marsh in 1879|