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Named Stegosaurus, or "roof lizard" for it's large, flat dorsal plates, this herbivorous dinosaur is a classic favorite. Scientists debate the purpose of those trademark plates, but many suggest they were used to regulate heat. Filled with blood vessels, the plates could quickly warm the big plant-eater when faced towards the sun.

Stegosaurus was a large herbivore with two rows of bony plates from neck to tail. The tail was tipped with large spikes used in defense against aggressive carnivores. Stegosaurus lived during the Jurassic Age of about 170 MYA years ago in Colorado, Wyoming & Utah.

Stegosaurus sp.
Late Jurassic (150 m.y.a.)
Morrison Formation
Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry, Utah