Learn about Stegosaurus , a dinosaur with distinctive plates and spikes on its back and tail. See photos, drawings, models and size comparisons of this Jurassic herbivore. Stegosaurus was a large, plant-eating dinosaur known for its distinctive plates and tail spikes, which it used to deter predators and adapt to its environment. Stegosaurus (/ ˌstɛɡəˈsɔːrəs /; [1] lit. 'roof-lizard') is a genus of herbivorous four-legged armored dinosaurs from the Late Jurassic, characterized by the distinctive kite-shaped upright plates along their backs and spikes on their tails. Fossils of the genus have been found in the western United States and in Portugal, where they are found in Kimmeridgian - to Tithonian -aged strata, dating to between 155 and 145 million years ago. Of the species that have been classified in the ... Stegosaurus , one of the various plated dinosaurs (Stegosauria) of the Late Jurassic Period (159 million to 144 million years ago) recognizable by its spiked tail and series of large triangular bony plates along the back. The forelimbs were much shorter than the hind limbs, which gave the back an arched appearance.
