This week let's look at one of the most instantly recognizable dinosaurs of them all, the Stegosaurus.
Living in the Late Jurassic around 150 million years ago, Stegosaurus was a plant-eating giant, stretching up to 9 meters long, but with a brain famously said to be the size of a walnut. (Don’t feel too sorry for it, it did just fine for millions of years!)
Its most striking feature is, of course, those large pointy plates along its back. But what were they for? The jury’s still out, but they may have helped with temperature regulation, intimidation (I mean I'd be pretty terrified), or as a mating display (get yer plates out!). Add to that the fearsome tail spikes (nicknamed the thagomizer after an old cartoon sketch - yes, really), and you’ve got a dinosaur that was as stylish as it was spiky.
I’ve sketched out a Stegosaurus showing off its classic look with plates up top, spikes at the rear. It may have had a tiny head, but you wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of that tail swipe!
Fun fact: The name Stegosaurus means “roof lizard,” because the first fossils were thought to show a reptile with plates lying flat across its back, like roof tiles. Later discoveries revealed the plates actually stood upright - much cooler looking, and a lot less like a garden shed!
