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Description
Scientific name: Stegosaurus stenops
Diet: low-growing plants (at the Zoo they are fed leafy vegetables and ferns)
Projected natural lifespan: 27 years
Length: 9 meters (~30 feet)
Weight: 6 tonnes (~6.6 tons)
Locality: Colorado, United States (Morrison Formation), 155 Ma (Late Jurassic Kimmeridgian)
Exhibit: Morrison Legends

About:
Stegosaurus is one of those dinosaurs that is so famous that you don't need a degree in paleontology to know what it is. Everyone who has heard of dinosaurs knows it for the plates and spikes that ran down its back.

Description and behavior:
Everyone knows Stegosaurus. Along with Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops, this is one of the few dinosaurs that is instantly recognizable by most people. It was a familiar herbivore, with a large body that housed a complex digestive system for digesting plants. These animals were also herding animals, which are quite common sights in the Morrison plains. What sets them apart from other dinosaurs is their back plates. These came in various shapes which differed between the three known Stegosaurus species. S. stenops here had kite-shaped plates that were arranged in a staggered position (one plate is only on the left side of the body without a corresponding plate on the right side, the next plate is on the right side of the body without a corresponding plate on the left side and so on). Depending on the individual, there can be anywhere from 17 to 22 plates on the body. These were too thin to have been used for protection, and were instead used for mating displays or individual recognition. However, Stegosaurus was not totally defenseless; the tip of the tail drooped down and sported two pairs of sharp spines, known as a thagomizer. A careful swing of the thagomizer could bring any predator down to its feet. And if the predator wanted to go for the jugular, it would be prevented by a thick mass of small armor plates. Even though Stegosaurus' brain is only the size of two walnuts, it was still a powerful defense machine.

At the Zoo:
The Morrison Legends exhibit houses four Stegosaurus, three females, Carmen, Stenu, Sulcer, and one male, Ungaro. They represent the ornithischian diversity of the Morrison Formation.

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The behavior is inspired by pigs and armadillos.

The skeletal I used belongs to DrScottHartman .

The mass estimate comes from Franoys ' chart: www.deviantart.com/franoys/art…

Description
Scientific name: Stegosaurus stenops
Diet: low-growing plants (at the Zoo they are fed leafy vegetables and ferns)
Projected natural lifespan: 27 years
Length: 9 meters (~30 feet)
Weight: 6 tonnes (~6.6 tons)
Locality: Colorado, United States (Morrison Formation), 155 Ma (Late Jurassic Kimmeridgian)
Exhibit: Morrison Legends

About:
Stegosaurus is one of those dinosaurs that is so famous that you don't need a degree in paleontology to know what it is. Everyone who has heard of dinosaurs knows it for the plates and spikes that ran down its back.

Description and behavior:
Everyone knows Stegosaurus. Along with Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops, this is one of the few dinosaurs that is instantly recognizable by most people. It was a familiar herbivore, with a large body that housed a complex digestive system for digesting plants. These animals were also herding animals, which are quite common sights in the Morrison plains. What sets them apart from other dinosaurs is their back plates. These came in various shapes which differed between the three known Stegosaurus species. S. stenops here had kite-shaped plates that were arranged in a staggered position (one plate is only on the left side of the body without a corresponding plate on the right side, the next plate is on the right side of the body without a corresponding plate on the left side and so on). Depending on the individual, there can be anywhere from 17 to 22 plates on the body. These were too thin to have been used for protection, and were instead used for mating displays or individual recognition. However, Stegosaurus was not totally defenseless; the tip of the tail drooped down and sported two pairs of sharp spines, known as a thagomizer. A careful swing of the thagomizer could bring any predator down to its feet. And if the predator wanted to go for the jugular, it would be prevented by a thick mass of small armor plates. Even though Stegosaurus' brain is only the size of two walnuts, it was still a powerful defense machine.

At the Zoo:
The Morrison Legends exhibit houses four Stegosaurus, three females, Carmen, Stenu, Sulcer, and one male, Ungaro. They represent the ornithischian diversity of the Morrison Formation.

----

The behavior is inspired by pigs and armadillos.

The skeletal I used belongs to DrScottHartman .

The mass estimate comes from Franoys ' chart: www.deviantart.com/franoys/art…