Page 77 - The Dinosaur Book and Other Wonders of the Prehistoric World (DK-Smithsonian)

Found in Jurassic Europe,
Dacentrurus reached lengths
of up to 26 ft (8 m).

The shoulder spines of
Gigantspinosaurus were as Chialingosaurus Stegosaurus
long as its front legs.

At
30 ft (9 m)
long, Stegosaurus Gigantspinosaurus
was the biggest
of the plated This dinosaur was
dinosaurs. covered with both
plates and spikes.

Kentrosaurus

Tuojiangosaurus had The back legs were much
tall, triangular plates longer than the front legs.
The tail was tipped along its back.
Stegosaurus with four sharp spikes
that were about
3 ft (90 cm) long.

The long back
legs supported the
dinosaur’s weight.

Tuojiangosaurus

The feet
had strong,
blunt hooves.

for defense, while the spikes on the end mouths that were ideal for gathering the most
of a stegosaur’s tail would certainly have nourishing parts of low-growing shrubs and
been used to lash out at a predator. But the other plants. In relation to their size, they also
spectacular plates may have been brightly had the smallest brain of any dinosaur—the
colored to attract a mate. All stegosaurs elephant-sized Stegosaurus had a brain that
were plant-eaters, with narrow, beaked was no bigger than a dog’s. 75

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