Stegosaurus was a large armored plant-eating dinosaur that lived during the Upper Jurassic Period (155-150 million years ago) in what is now western North America. It had an unusually small head, and although an adult would have weighed over 4.5 metric tons, its brain would have weighed less than three ounces. This led to the suggestion that Stegosaurus was extremely dull-witted, but it was clearly a successful dinosaur, so its small brain obviously wasn’t a problem.

• Scientific Name: Stegosaurus, meaning ‘covered lizard’ for the bony plates that covered its back.
• Characteristics: Stegosaurus has extremely short front limbs that gives it a very rounded back and places its small head very close to the ground. Because of this, it is thought that it would have been restricted to feeding at or near ground level. As depicted in this Stegosaurus toy, this dinosaur had two sets of long bony spikes on the tail that probably functioned in defense against predators, and a double row of plates along its back.
• Size and Color: This Stegosaurus toy model is 12.25 inches long and 6.5 inches high. It is mostly brown and red earth tones with some yellow, allowing the animal to blend into its surroundings.
• The Stegosaurus is part of the Great Dinos collection