Dinosaurs Around the World · Drawing 07 of 34
Stegosaurus
North America · Jurassic · about 150 million years ago
Stegosaurus ate plants. Two rows of plates rose along its back, and spikes ended its tail.
Did you know?
It lived in the Jurassic, long before Tyrannosaurus.
Look together
Do its back plates look like its tail spikes?
An idea to try
Point to the back plates, then the tail spikes.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
Stegosaurus bones and plates are known especially from the United States. The large plates are not wings. Several ideas have been proposed for their functions; the illustration does not present one as certain.
Look together: Do its back plates look like its tail spikes? Point to the back plates, then the tail spikes.
Sources and illustration notes (1)
Simplified reconstruction. Pose, unpreserved tissues and setting are interpreted. Choose your own colours; animals are not to one scale.
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. References identify the institution and the related lesson; some linked pages are in French.
- Natural History Museum: StegosaurusLate Jurassic age range; 150 million years is a rounded example within that range.
Source review: 2026-10-04. Illustrations are simplified for colouring.
