Stegosaurus

Easily one of the best known of all the dinosaurs ever, Stegosaurus is recognized the world over. It roamed the open plains of the Late Jurassic Period in what is now North America. The unique plates along its back, its small head and spiked tail make it a peculiar and unique dinosaur. This plant-eater evolved to find its food in the low-growing plants of the late Jurassic. The long fearsome spikes on its tail would have made a powerful weapon against any hungry predators.

Stegosaurus is often called the dumbest dinosaur because of its incredibly small brain. In fact, most scientists believe that its brain was too small to control such a large creature and that it used an auxiliary "brain" located above its rear legs to help control its movements. This was not actually a brain, but a bundle of nerves that helped relay information from its real brain.

Most fascinating to people are the plates along its back. There has been a great deal of debate about their use and arrangement. The plates were up to 2-feet tall and 2-feet wide (.6 m). The most prevalent theory is that they were used for cooling or heating the animal. A more recent theory, however, suggests that they could have been used as a display during courtship and that they may have been brightly colored. It is also possible that they could move up and down, perhaps to intimidate predators.

The spikes on its tail are also the subjects of some controversy. For years every model of Stegosaurus showed it with the spikes sticking up into the air. It is only since the 1990's that it has become accepted that these spikes stuck out horizontal to the ground, which would have been a potent defensive weapon when swung at a hunter.

Stegosaurus would have lived in family groups and possibly herds, moving slowly through forests while eating the low-growing plants. Its front legs were considerably shorter than its hind legs, making it adapted to nibbling the plants closest to the ground. Stegosaurus is the namesake for a large family of dinosaurs whose members were found all over the world. {C The Stegosaurus (its code name "Stego") was a peaceful herbivore, and probably roamed the prehistoric highlands in small herds, grazing on low ground plants. An average Stegosaurus was about the size of an elephant, standing about 11 feet tall. It had a very low intelligence (its brain was the size of a walnut). The bony plates on it's back may have served a dual purpose of a body temperature regulation, and protection from large flesh-eating predators. Different species had different numbers of tail spikes. For example, Stegosaurus stenops had 4 spikes, Stegosaurus ungulatis had 8 spikes.

More real-life information: Stegosaurus at Wikipedia.

Jurassic Park Franchise
Stegosaurus appears in the novels of Crichton and in the second and third movie. It also appears in many games, toys and other memorabilia.

Jurassic Park novel
InGen created a herd of 4 Stegosaurs in territory of Isla Nublar called Stegosaur South. This territory was probably located at the south point of the island.

The creature is encountered in the Stegosaurus chapter. Donald Gennaro's inspection team arrives at the location after they have seen the sauropod territory. The team leaves the Land cruisers to inspect a sick Stegosaur. The creature is described as: "twenty feet long, with a huge bulky body and vertical armor plates along its back. The tail had dangerous-looking 3 foot spikes. But the neck tapered to an absurdly small head with a stupid gaze, like a very dumn horse". The animal smells and pants for breath, because the current atmosphere has a lower oxygen level (21%) than in Mesozoic times (27%).

Gerry Harding tells the team that the Stegosaurs make a fixed route through their territory which takes a week. Once in six weeks the animals get blisters. The team discovers later that the animals get sick because once in 6 weeks the animals swallow stones which they use as s, while they do this they also swallow the berries of the poisonous.

Dennis Nedry stole a Stegosaurus embryo from the Cryo Labs.

The Lost World novel
Stegosaurus is first seen by the Site B river with the other dinosaur herds. There is a single, solitary Stegosaur that is seen by the river and it is quite possibly the only Stegosaurus that is seen in the entire novel.

After Sarah Harding regained consciousness after pulling herself up onto the shore of Site B, she discovered that a stegosaur had been licking her face as she was unconscious. The Stegosaur‘s dark-blue tongue was rough like sandpaper and it's saliva smelled sweet, like fermenting African beer. She had first mistaken it for a horse, it had dull eyes and soft eyelashes, but then she discovered that the head was too narrow and the snout was too tapered. The Stegosaur, she described, had a small head, a surprisingly thick neck, a huge and heavy lumbering body, with a double row of pentagonal plates running along the crest of the back, and a dragging tail with spikes in it. The Stegosaur‘s skin had a pebbled texture, not scaly like a reptile's, but more like the skin of a rhino or of a warthog. It also had a peaceful, rather stupid air. She deduced from her observations that the Stegosaur was warm-blooded.

Jurassic Park film
The name "Stegasaurus" (A typo, obviously,) was seen next to a vial in the Cold Storage Room, when Dennis Nedry stole some embryos.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Along with everything else on Isla Sorna, Stegosaurus roamed freely across the island. Massive animals, they were some of the largest of the animals on the island. Ian Malcolm, Eddie Carr, Nick Van Owen, and Sarah Harding encountered a stegosaur herd near a river bed. Stegosaurus is green in color with brown plates exhibiting a paler center,

Sarah Harding approaches the herd very closely. She encounters the infant Stegosaur Claire, and she takes pictures of her. When the film of her camera was full it started to make noises. Because of the noise the herd sees Sarah as a threat to their young and start to attack Sarah. Later, Peter Ludlow's hunters captured both an infant and an adult Stegosaur. They appear again near the end of the film migrating across the island.

Stegosaurus stenops in The Lost World was twice larger (12 m) than its real-life counterpart (8 m) and it was 2 meters longer than Stegosaurus armatus (9, maybe furter fossils can be 10m). InGen may have increased its size to make it more spectacular.

Jurassic Park III
Stegosaurs were also briefly encountered near another river where Dr Alan Grant and the Kirby family road a boat through. Stegosaurs lined the river sides.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park video game
Stegosaurus is an enemy in the PSX/Sega Saturn game The Lost World: Jurassic Park. It is encountered in the Tyrannosaurus level.

Trespasser
Stegosaurus can be encountered in Jurassic Park: Trespasser. Contrary to what John Hammond says when you see your first Brachiosaurus, a Stegosaurus is a large herbivore from the Jurassic Period. It can be seen in only a few levels, one of which is level 2, the Jungle Road. In this level, the Stegosaur can be used as an alternative for guns for dealing with a nearby Tribe A Velociraptors. Stegosaurs are fairly slow when they move, and their only obvious line of defense are the 3-foot-each spikes on the tail.

Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis
Stegosaurus also appears in Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis for PS2, PC, and Xbox, as a four-star attraction. Its fossils are found in the Morrison Formation, just like in the real world. It is based on it's appearance in Jurassic Park III. Stegosaurus can also have "Death Duels" with Tyrannosaurus, usually coming on top by swinging its spikes on to the T-rex's face, thus killing it. Tyrannosaurus will sometimes come on top by grabbing its neck and twisting it hard, very much like the Tyrannosaurus and Ankylosaurus death duel. This is possibly a reference to the battle between a Tyrannosaurus and a Stegosaurus in a segment of Walt Disney's Fantasia. It is a friend of Kentrosaurus and moves in herds with them. However, most at time T-rex has a bigger chance to defeat Stegosaurus in Death Duel than fighting Ankylosaurus

Jurassic Park III: Park Builder
In Jurassic Park III: Park Builder, Stegosaurus is a herbivore that can be created. It is nr. 62 of the Herbivore Threes. A Mini Stegosaurus is also nr. 63 of the Herbivore Ones.

Cameos

 * Stegosaurus is an enemy in the Jurassic Park game for NES. It kills you instantly if you walk into it, but does not attack you.
 * The remains of a female Stegosaurus (eaten by Compys) is encountered in the arcade game The Lost World: Jurassic Park, level 1. Some Stegosaurus can be seen in the attract mode.
 * Stegosaurus appears in the Audio menu of Warpath: Jurassic Park's Options mode. It oddly used Styracosaurus sound. Stegosaurus is not listed in the museum, either.
 * Stegosaurus is the 10th dinosaur that appears in Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor.
 * An illustration of its skull appears in Jurassic Park: The Game.

Jurassic Park toy lines
Stegosaurus appears as a toy in the Jurassic Park Series 1 this figure inaccuratley depicts stegosaurus and The Lost World Series 1 toy linethis version is much more movie accurate. A Stegosaurus was also going to be made into a figure for the Jurassic Park 2011 toy line featuring a dino damage skin patch but remains a prototype.

Theme parks
A pair of Stegosaurus is seen in the Jurassic Park: River Adventure ride. One of the Stegosaurus appears to be a baby.