Fauna
Species · GBIF taxon 8541999

Stegosaurus stenops

Stegosaurus stenops

Also known as Narrow-faced Roof Lizard

Stegosaurus stenops carried two alternating rows of broad, kite-shaped osteoderms down its arched spine and a defensive four-spiked thagomizer at the tip of its flexible tail. Small, peg-like teeth set in a narrow beak adapted this quadruped for stripping ground-level vegetation like ferns, horsetails, and cycads across open floodplains. Fossil evidence of punctured bones indicates that adults actively wielded their spiked tails to ward off apex theropods like Allosaurus.

PrehistoricHerbivorous
Stegosaurus stenops reference
Licensed reference(c) Ryan Somma, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
—observations
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—peak records
ExtinctConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXExtinctRed List categories, explained →
Key facts
Diet & prey
  • Herbivore (ferns, cycads, mosses, and conifers)
Predators
  • Allosaurus fragilis
  • Ceratosaurus nasicornis
  • Torvosaurus tanneri
ThreatsCarnivorous theropods, seasonal droughts, and disease
HabitatsSemi-arid floodplains, open fern savannas, and river woodlands
Life span20–30 years (estimated)
Classification
  1. FamilyStegosauridae
  2. SpeciesStegosaurus stenops
Range & activity
Range data is not available yet.
Safe observation
Interaction riskLow
  1. Low
  2. Moderate
  3. High
  4. Very high
Why interaction risk is low
Extinct prehistoric species known exclusively from Jurassic fossils; safe to observe as museum specimens.
Responsible observation
  • Fossil Examination: Inspect mounted museum skeletons to view the alternating vascularized plate arrangement along the backbone.
  • Field Geology: Explore Kimmeridgian-age strata in the Morrison Formation to understand the ancient floodplain habitat.
Related species
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