History UsefulNotes / PrehistoricLifeStegosaurs

* Two similar-looking stegosaurs are known from Middle Jurassic Europe. Both ''Dacentrurus'' ("tail full of points") dscribed above, and ''Lexovisaurus'' (named from an ancient Celtic people) are found in several European countries: England, France, and Portugal. ''Lexovisaurus durobrivensis'' was named in the 20th century. Unfortunately, both are known from scanty remains. Illustrations usually show them with a kentrosaur-like armor with or without shoulder-spikes, even though the lexovisaur sometimes appears with a more tuojiangosaur-like look. Recently, many alleged "Lexovisaurus" remains have been reclassified in another genus, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loricatosaurus Loricatosaurus]]'' ("armored lizard"). In 2009, a brand new stegosaur was excavated in Portugal: the quite simple-named but very peculiar ''Miragaia''. Late Jurassic like ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Kentrosaurus'', it was medium-sized for a stegosaur, and with its small but abundant plates and unusually long neck, it looks a bit like Dinny from ''ComicStrip/AlleyOop''. Its full scientifical name is ''Miragaia longicollis'', the latter term meaning "long necked" indeed. ''Miragaia'' suddenly increased the diversity of the small taxonomic group of the stegosaurs: before its discover all stegos were believed to have had the same short-necked shape of ''Stegosaurus''. Its has already appeared in [[Series/DinosaurRevolution one TV documentary]], and its unusual look could even make the miragaia interesting for pop-cultural producers, either.

* ''Dacentrurus armatus'' was first described in the mid 1800s by Richard Owen with the now-invalid name "Omosaurus", before ''Stegosaurus'' itself was discovered in the USA. Unfortunately, it is known from incomplete remains, so its appearances and even its size is uncertain. Illustrations usually shows it with a kentrosaur-like armor (with or without shoulder-spikes). Some suspect ''Dacentrurus'' was a very large animal, maybe even bigger than ''Stegosaurus'' itself, which is usually considered the largest stegosaur.

* Two similar-looking stegosaurs are known from Middle Jurassic Europe. Both ''Dacentrurus'' ("tail full of points") dscribed above, and ''Lexovisaurus'' (named from an ancient Celtic people) are found in several European countries: England, France, and Portugal. ''Lexovisaurus durobrivensis'' was named in the 20th century. Unfortunately, both are known from scanty remains. Illustrations usually show them with a kentrosaur-like armor with or without shoulder-spikes, even though the lexovisaur sometimes appears with a more tuojiangosaur-like look. Recently, many alleged "Lexovisaurus" remains have been reclassified in another genus, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loricatosaurus Loricatosaurus]]'' ("armored lizard"). In 2009, a brand new stegosaur was excavated in Portugal: the quite simple-named but very peculiar ''Miragaia''. Late Jurassic like ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Kentrosaurus'', it was medium-sized for a stegosaur, and with its small but abundant plates and unusually long neck, it looks a bit like Dinny from ''ComicStrip/AlleyOop''. Its full scientifical name is ''Miragaia longicollis'', the latter term meaning "long necked" indeed. ''Miragaia'' suddenly increased the diversity of the small taxonomic group of the stegosaurs: before its discover all stegos were believed to have had the same short-necked shape of ''Stegosaurus''. Its has already appeared in one TV documentary, and its unusual look could even make the miragaia interesting for pop-cultural producers, either.

Among non-''Stegosaurus'' stegosaurs, you will see ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Tuojiangosaurus]]'' and ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Kentrosaurus]]'' more often than others, but you could also see ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Dacentrurus]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Huayangosaurus]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Wuerhosaurus]]'', as well as getting the occasional mention of "''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Dravidosaurus]]''".

* Two similar-looking stegosaurs are known from Middle Jurassic Europe. Both ''Dacentrurus'' ("tail full of points") and ''Lexovisaurus'' (named from an ancient Celtic people) are found in several European countries: England, France, and Portugal. ''Dacentrurus armatus'' was first described in the mid 1800s, while ''Lexovisaurus durobrivensis'' was named in the 20th century. Unfortunately, both are known from incomplete remains, so their appearances and even their sizes are uncertain. Illustrations usually show them with a kentrosaur-like armor (with or without shoulder-spikes), even though the lexovisaur sometimes appears with a more tuojiangosaur-like look. Recently, many alleged "Lexovisaurus" remains have been reclassified in another genus, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loricatosaurus Loricatosaurus]]'' ("armored lizard"). In 2009, a brand new stegosaur was excavated in Portugal: the quite simple-named but very peculiar ''Miragaia''. Late Jurassic like ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Kentrosaurus'', it was medium-sized for a stegosaur, and with its small but abundant plates and unusually long neck, it looks a bit like Dinny from ''ComicStrip/AlleyOop''. Its full scientifical name is ''Miragaia longicollis'', the latter term meaning "long necked" indeed. ''Miragaia'' suddenly increased the diversity of the small taxonomic group of the stegosaurs: before its discover all stegos were believed to have had the same short-necked shape of ''Stegosaurus''. Its unusual look could even make the miragaia interesting for pop-cultural producers, either.

* The People's Republic of China has given us about half the steggies around the world. ''Chialingosaurus'' was the first discovered, in 1940s: Late Jurassic, it was similar to ''Kentrosaurus'' and more slender than other stegosaurs. The others have been found since the 1970s: other than ''Tuojiangosaurus'' there are the Middle Jurassic ''Huayangosaurus''; the small ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chungkingosaurus Chungkingosaurus]]'' (Late Jurassic); ''Jiangjunosaurus'', which was found in the western region of Xinjiang; ''Monkonosaurus'', found in Tibet; the Middle Cretaceous ''Wuerhosaurus''; and ''Yingshanosaurus'', with flattened shoulder-spikes. A find from the 1990s has received a more obvious name: ''Gigantspinosaurus'' (it was not a cross between [[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs a ''Giganotosaurus'' and a ''Spinosaurus'']]!) Kentrosaurus-sized (thus small for stegosaur standards), it had small plates oddily only on its back (not on its tail) and an uncospicuous thagomizer: both features vividly contrast with its truly [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin gigantic spines]] on its shoulders: thick, curved, and each as long as the whole trunk! Like ''Miragaia'' above, ''Gigantspinosaurus'' has notably increased the variety of the stegosaur world thanks to its look, and its colossal shoulder-spikes could even make it interesting for the broader pop-culture.

* The People's Republic of China has given us about half the steggies around the world. ''Chialingosaurus'' was the first discovered, in 1940s: Late Jurassic, it was similar to ''Kentrosaurus'' and more slender than other stegosaurs. The others have been found since the 1970s: other than ''Tuojiangosaurus'' there are the Middle Jurassic ''Huayangosaurus''; the small ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chungkingosaurus Chungkingosaurus]]'' (Late Jurassic); ''Jiangjunosaurus'', which was found in the western region of Xinjiang; ''Monkonosaurus'', found in Tibet; ''Wuerhosaurus''; and ''Yingshanosaurus'', with flattened shoulder-spikes. A find from the 1990s has received a more obvious name: ''Gigantspinosaurus'' (it was not a cross between [[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs a ''Giganotosaurus'' and a ''Spinosaurus'']]!) Kentrosaurus-sized (thus small for stegosaur standards), it had small plates oddily only on its back (not on its tail) and an uncospicuous thagomizer: both features vividly contrast with its truly [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin gigantic spines]] on its shoulders: thick, curved, and each as long as the whole trunk! Like ''Miragaia'' above, ''Gigantspinosaurus'' has notably increased the variety of the stegosaur world thanks to its look, and its colossal shoulder-spikes could even make it interesting for the broader pop-culture.

* The People's Republic of China has given us about half the steggies around the world. ''Chialingosaurus'' was the first discovered, in 1940s: Late Jurassic, it was similar to ''Kentrosaurus'' and more slender than other stegosaurs. The others have been found since the 1970s: other than ''Tuojiangosaurus'' there are the Middle Jurassic ''Huayangosaurus''; the small ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chungkingosaurus Chungkingosaurus]]'' (Late Jurassic); ''Jiangjunosaurus'', which was found in the western region of Xinjiang; ''Monkonosaurus'', found in Tibet; ''Wuerhosaurus'' (see also below); and ''Yingshanosaurus'', with flattened shoulder-spikes. A find from the 1990s has received a more obvious name: ''Gigantspinosaurus'' (it was not a cross between [[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs a ''Giganotosaurus'' and a ''Spinosaurus'']]!) Kentrosaurus-sized (thus small for stegosaur standards), it had small plates oddily only on its back (not on its tail) and an uncospicuous thagomizer: both features vividly contrast with its truly [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin gigantic spines]] on its shoulders: thick, curved, and each as long as the whole trunk! Like ''Miragaia'' above, ''Gigantspinosaurus'' has notably increased the variety of the stegosaur world thanks to its look, and its colossal shoulder-spikes could even make it interesting for the broader pop-culture.

Among non-''Stegosaurus'' stegosaurs, you will see ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Tuojiangosaurus]]'' and ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Kentrosaurus]]'' more often than others, but you could also see ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Dacentrurus]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Huayangosaurus]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Wuerhosaurus]]'', ''Lexovisaurus'', ''Gigantspinosaurus'', ''Miragaia'', and other relatives, as well as getting the occasional mention of "''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Dravidosaurus]]''".

* The People's Republic of China has given us about half the steggies around the world. ''Chialingosaurus'' was the first discovered, in 1940s: Late Jurassic, it was similar to ''Kentrosaurus'' and more slender than other stegosaurs. The others have been found since the 1970s: other than ''Tuojiangosaurus'' there are the Middle Jurassic ''Huayangosaurus'' (see below); the small ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chungkingosaurus Chungkingosaurus]]'' (Late Jurassic); ''Jiangjunosaurus'', which was found in the western region of Xinjiang; ''Monkonosaurus'', found in Tibet; ''Wuerhosaurus'' (see also below); and ''Yingshanosaurus'', with flattened shoulder-spikes. A find from the 1990s has received a more obvious name: ''Gigantspinosaurus'' (it was not a cross between [[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs a ''Giganotosaurus'' and a ''Spinosaurus'']]!) Kentrosaurus-sized (thus small for stegosaur standards), it had small plates oddily only on its back (not on its tail) and an uncospicuous thagomizer: both features vividly contrast with its truly [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin gigantic spines]] on its shoulders: thick, curved, and each as long as the whole trunk! Like ''Miragaia'' above, ''Gigantspinosaurus'' has notably increased the variety of the stegosaur world thanks to its look, and its colossal shoulder-spikes could even make it interesting for the broader pop-culture.

* Two similar-looking stegosaurs are known from Middle Jurassic Europe. Both ''Dacentrurus'' ("tail full of points") and ''Lexovisaurus'' (named from an ancient Celtic people) are found in several European countries: England, France, and Portugal. ''Dacentrurus armatus'' was first described in the mid 1800s, while ''Lexovisaurus durobrivensis'' was named in the 20th century. Unfortunately, both are known from incomplete remains, so their appearances and even their sizes are uncertain. Illustrations usually show them with a kentrosaur-like armor (with or without shoulder-spikes), even though the lexovisaur sometimes appears with a more tuojiangosaur-like look. Recently, many alleged "Lexovisaurus" remains have been reclassified in another genus, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loricatosaurus Loricatosaurus]]'' ("armored lizard"). In 2009, a brand new stegosaur was excavated in Portugal: the quite simple-named but very peculiar ''Miragaia''. Late Jurassic like ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Kentrosaurus'', it was medium-sized for a stegosaur, and with its small but abundant plates and unusually long neck, it looks a bit like Dinny from ''ComicStrip/AlleyOop''. Its full scientifical name is ''Miragaia longicollis'', the latter term meaning "long necked" indeed. ''Miragaia'' suddenly increased the diversity of the small taxonomic group of the stegosaurs: before its discover all stegos were believed to have had the same short-necked shape of the prototypical ''Stegosaurus''. Its unusual look could even make the miragaia interesting for pop-cultural producers, either.

* Two similar-looking stegosaurs are known from Middle Jurassic Europe. Both ''Dacentrurus'' ("tail full of points") and ''Lexovisaurus'' (named from an ancient Celtic people) are found in several European countries: England, France, and Portugal. ''Dacentrurus armatus'' was first described in the mid 1800s by Richard Owen with the now-invalid name "Omosaurus", before ''Stegosaurus'' itself was discovered in the USA, while ''Lexovisaurus durobrivensis'' was named in the 20th century. Unfortunately, both are known from incomplete remains, so their appearances and even their sizes are uncertain. Illustrations usually show them with a kentrosaur-like armor (with or without shoulder-spikes), even though the lexovisaur sometimes appears with a more tuojiangosaur-like look. Some suspect ''Dacentrurus'' was a very large animal, maybe even bigger than ''Stegosaurus'' itself, which is usually considered the largest stegosaur. Recently, many alleged "Lexovisaurus" remains have been reclassified in another genus, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loricatosaurus Loricatosaurus]]'' ("armored lizard"). In 2009, a brand new stegosaur was excavated in Portugal: the quite simple-named but very peculiar ''Miragaia''. Late Jurassic like ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Kentrosaurus'', it was medium-sized for a stegosaur, and with its small but abundant plates and unusually long neck, it looks a bit like Dinny from ''ComicStrip/AlleyOop''. Its full scientifical name is ''Miragaia longicollis'', the latter term meaning "long necked" indeed. ''Miragaia'' suddenly increased the diversity of the small taxonomic group of the stegosaurs: before its discover all stegos were believed to have had the same short-necked shape of the prototypical ''Stegosaurus''. Its unusual look could even make the miragaia interesting for pop-cultural producers, either.

* Two similar-looking stegosaurs are known from Middle Jurassic Europe. Both ''Dacentrurus'' ("tail full of points") and ''Lexovisaurus'' (named from an ancient Celtic people) are found in several European countries (England, France, Portugal). ''Dacentrurus armatus'' was first described in the mid 1800s by Richard Owen with the now-invalid name "Omosaurus", before ''Stegosaurus'' itself was discovered in the USA, while ''Lexovisaurus durobrivensis'' was named in the 20th century. Unfortunately, both are known from incomplete remains, so their appearances and even their sizes are uncertain. Illustrations usually show them with a kentrosaur-like armor (with or without shoulder-spikes), even though the lexovisaur sometimes appears with a more tuojiangosaur-like look. Some suspect ''Dacentrurus'' was a very large animal, maybe even bigger than ''Stegosaurus'' itself, which is usually considered the largest stegosaur. Recently, many alleged "Lexovisaurus" remains have been reclassified in another genus, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loricatosaurus Loricatosaurus]]'' ("armored lizard"). In 2009, a brand new stegosaur was excavated in Portugal: the quite simple-named but very peculiar ''Miragaia''. Late Jurassic like ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Kentrosaurus'', it was medium-sized for a stegosaur, and with its small but abundant plates and unusually long neck, it looks a bit like Dinny from ''ComicStrip/AlleyOop''. Its full scientifical name is ''Miragaia longicollis'', the latter term meaning "long necked" indeed. ''Miragaia'' suddenly increased the diversity of the small taxonomic group of the stegosaurs: before its discover all stegos were believed to have had the same short-necked shape of the prototypical ''Stegosaurus''. Its unusual look could even make the miragaia interesting for pop-cultural producers, either.

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'''The most archaic stegosaur?:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huayangosaurus Huayangosaurus]]''

* ''Huayangosaurus'' is particolarly notable among stegosaurians in general, because is the most primitive stegosaur known from good fossil material. [[note]]''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatisaurus Tatisaurus]]'' from Early Jurassic was once believed an even more basal stegosaur from Yunnan, but is known only from pieces of bone and it's more likely a scelidosaur instead.[[/note]] It was small, 4 m long, and preserved several ancestral traits in its skeleton, such as a big head, small frontal teeth on its upper jaw, and long forelimbs. The frontal upper teeth is a typical primitive trait among ornithischians, which were lost in more evolved stegosaurs. The huayangosaur's armor, however, was already fully stegosaurian, rather similar to ''Tuojiangosaurus'' with a true thagomizer, and also with shoulder spikes like ''Kentrosaurus''. Because of their primitiveness, ''Huayangosaurus'' (and few others, like ''Chungkingosaurus'' and the little-known ''Craterosaurus'' and ''Regnosaurus'', both from Early Cretaceous England) make a family on their own, Huayangosaurids, while most other stegosaurs make together the more evolved Stegosaurids. At the other extremity, ''Wuerhosaurus'' was one of the latest-surviving stegosaurs, and the most known among the Cretaceous stegosaurs in spite of being scantier than several Jurassic relatives. Almost as large as a ''Stegosaurus'', it had the same alternate plates and four-spiked tail, but has traditionally been depicted with wery low, rectangular plates instead of pentagonal. According to recent research its plates could have been taller and more ''Stegosaurus''-like than formerly thought. We don't know if it had shoulder spikes or not, but flat bony skin-scutes are known from fossils.

----

Among non-''Stegosaurus'' stegosaurs, you will see ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Tuojiangosaurus]]'' and ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Kentrosaurus]]'' more often than others, but you could also see ''Dacentrurus'', ''Huayangosaurus'', ''Wuerhosaurus'', ''Lexovisaurus'', ''Gigantspinosaurus'', ''Miragaia'', and other relatives, as well as getting the occasional mention of "''Dravidosaurus''".

[[folder:European Stegosaurs]]

'''Cousins in Europe:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacentrurus Dacentrurus]]'' & ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexovisaurus Lexovisaurus]]''

* Two similar-looking stegosaurs are known from Middle Jurassic Europe. Both ''Dacentrurus'' ("tail full of points") and ''Lexovisaurus'' (named from an ancient Celtic people) are found in several European countries (England, France, Portugal). ''Dacentrurus armatus'' was first described in the mid 1800s by Richard Owen with the now-invalid name "Omosaurus", before ''Stegosaurus'' itself was discovered in the USA, while ''Lexovisaurus durobrivensis'' was named in the 20th century. Unfortunately, both are known from incomplete remains, so their appearances and even their sizes are uncertain. Illustrations usually show them with a kentrosaur-like armor (with or without shoulder-spikes), even though the lexovisaur sometimes appears with a more tuojiangosaur-like look. Some suspect ''Dacentrurus'' was a very large animal, maybe even bigger than ''Stegosaurus'' itself, which is usually considered the largest stegosaur. Recently, many alleged "Lexovisaurus" remains have been reclassified in another genus, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loricatosaurus Loricatosaurus]]'' ("armored lizard").

'''Long-necked Stegosaur:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miragaia_(dinosaur) Miragaia]]''

* In 2009, a brand new stegosaur was excavated in Portugal: the quite simple-named but very peculiar ''Miragaia''. Late Jurassic like ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Kentrosaurus'', it was medium-sized for a stegosaur, and with its small but abundant plates and unusually long neck, it looks a bit like Dinny from ''ComicStrip/AlleyOop''. Its full scientifical name is ''Miragaia longicollis'', the latter term meaning "long necked" indeed. ''Miragaia'' suddenly increased the diversity of the small taxonomic group of the stegosaurs: before its discover all stegos were believed to have had the same short-necked shape of the prototypical ''Stegosaurus''. Its unusual look could even make the miragaia interesting for pop-cultural producers, either.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Asian Stegosaurs]]

'''MOAR cousins, this time in China:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuerhosaurus Wuerhosaurus]]'' & ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantspinosaurus Gigantspinosaurus]]''

* The People's Republic of China has given us about half the steggies around the world. ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chialingosaurus Chialingosaurus]]'' was the first discovered, in 1940s: Late Jurassic, it was similar to ''Kentrosaurus'' and more slender than other stegosaurs. The others have been found since the 1970s: other than ''Tuojiangosaurus'' there are the Middle Jurassic ''Huayangosaurus'' (see below); the small ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chungkingosaurus Chungkingosaurus]]'' (Late Jurassic); ''Jiangjunosaurus'', which was found in the western region of Xinjiang; ''Monkonosaurus'', found in Tibet; ''Wuerhosaurus'' (see also below); and ''Yingshanosaurus'', with flattened shoulder-spikes. A find from the 1990s has received a more obvious name: ''Gigantspinosaurus'' (it was not a cross between [[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs a ''Giganotosaurus'' and a ''Spinosaurus'']]!) Kentrosaurus-sized (thus small for stegosaur standards), it had small plates oddily only on its back (not on its tail) and an uncospicuous thagomizer: both features vividly contrast with its truly [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin gigantic spines]] on its shoulders: thick, curved, and each as long as the whole trunk! Like ''Miragaia'' above, ''Gigantspinosaurus'' has notably increased the variety of the stegosaur world thanks to its look, and its colossal shoulder-spikes could even make it interesting for the broader pop-culture.

----

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Non-Stegosaur]]

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'''Under the Sea:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dravidosaurus Dravidosaurus]]''

* Definitive stegosaurs appeared in the Middle Jurassic: ex. ''Dacentrurus'', ''Lexovisaurus'', other than ''Huayangosaurus''. They reached their heyday in the Late Jurassic with genera such as ''Stegosaurus'', ''Tuojiangosaurus'', ''Kentrosaurus'', ''Chialingosaurus'', ''Gigantspinosaurus'', ''Miragaia'', and several others. However, they began to decline in Early Cretaceous, perhaps due to competition from the more armored ankylosaurs, yet there were still a few holdouts such as ''Wuerhosaurus'' and the african ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranthodon Paranthodon]]''. However, there was a stegosaur which, uniquely, survived until the Late Cretaceous: ''Dravidosaurus''. Discovered in 1979, it's one of the few dinosaurs (and the only stegosaur) found in Indian subcontinent [[note]]The leg bone of ''Brachypodosaurus'' was also found there, but it's uncertain if it was a stegosaur or an ankylosaur.[[/note]], a huge separate landmass in the Late Mesozoic. ''Dravidosaurus'' (whose name could be translated to "lizard of Southern India") somehow managed to arrive there, and flourished thanks to the absence of competition which other relatives faced in the mainland. Its status as "the last stegosaur" gave it several mentions in books and even some documentaries, which usually showed it like an undersized "Stegosaurus" (it was believed one of the smallest stegosaurs ever). However, all this was [[ScienceMarchesOn shown to be false]]. In 1996, a re-examination of its extremely fragmentary remains has revealed our Last Stegosaur to be 1. not a stegosaur, 2. not a dinosaur, and 3. not even a land-dweller. It was a marine reptile, more precisely a [[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursNonDinosaurs plesiosaur]].

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[[folder:European stegosaurs]]

[[folder:Asian stegosaurs]]

[[folder:Non-stegosaur]]

'''Under the sea:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dravidosaurus Dravidosaurus]]''

Among non-''Stegosaurus'' stegosaurs, you will see ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Tuojiangosaurus]]'' and ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Kentrosaurus]]'' more often than others, but you could also see ''Dacentrurus'', ''Huayangosaurus'', ''Wuerhosaurus'', ''Lexovisaurus'', and other relatives, as well as getting the occasional mention of "''Dravidosaurus''".

* Definitive stegosaurs appeared in the Middle Jurassic: ex. ''Dacentrurus'', ''Lexovisaurus'', other than ''Huayangosaurus''. They reached their heyday in the Late Jurassic with genera such as ''Stegosaurus'', ''Tuojiangosaurus'', ''Kentrosaurus'', ''Chialingosaurus'', ''Gigantspinosaurus'', ''Miragaia'', and several others. However, they began to decline in Early Cretaceous, perhaps due to competition from the more armored ankylosaurs, yet there were still a few holdouts such as ''Wuerhosaurus'' and the african ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranthodon Paranthodon]]''. However, there was a stegosaur which, uniquely, survived until the Late Cretaceous: ''Dravidosaurus''. Discovered in 1979, it's one of the few dinosaurs (and the only stegosaur) found in Indian subcontinent [[note]]The leg bone of ''Brachypodosaurus'' was also found there, but it's uncertain if it was a stegosaur or an ankylosaur.[[/note]], a huge separate landmass in the Late Mesozoic. ''Dravidosaurus'' (whose name could be translated to "lizard of Southern India") somehow managed to arrive there, and flourished thanks to the absence of competition which other relatives faced in the mainland. Its status as "the last stegosaur" gave it several mentions in books and even some documentaries, which usually showed it like an undersized "Stegosaurus" (it was believed one of the smallest stegosaurs ever). However, all this was [[ScienceMarchesOn shown to be false]]. In 1996, a re-examination of its extremely fragmentary remains has revealed our Last Stegosaur to be 1. not a stegosaur, 2. not a dinosaur, and 3. not even a land-dweller. It was a marine reptile, more precisely a [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeNonDinosaurianReptiles plesiosaur]].

[[folder:True stegosaurs]]

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''Huayangosaurus'' is particolarly notable among stegosaurians in general, because is the most primitive stegosaur known from good fossil material. [[note]]''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatisaurus Tatisaurus]]'' from Early Jurassic was once believed an even more basal stegosaur from Yunnan, but is known only from pieces of bone and it's more likely a scelidosaur instead.[[/note]] It was small, 4 m long, and preserved several ancestral traits in its skeleton, such as a big head, small frontal teeth on its upper jaw, and long forelimbs. The frontal upper teeth is a typical primitive trait among ornithischians, which were lost in more evolved stegosaurs. The huayangosaur's armor, however, was already fully stegosaurian, rather similar to ''Tuojiangosaurus'' with a true thagomizer, and also with shoulder spikes like ''Kentrosaurus''. Because of their primitiveness, ''Huayangosaurus'' (and few others, like ''Chungkingosaurus'' and the little-known ''Craterosaurus'' and ''Regnosaurus'', both from Early Cretaceous England) make a family on their own, Huayangosaurids, while most other stegosaurs make together the more evolved Stegosaurids. At the other extremity, ''Wuerhosaurus'' was one of the latest-surviving stegosaurs, and the most known among the Cretaceous stegosaurs in spite of being scantier than several Jurassic relatives. Almost as large as a ''Stegosaurus'', it had the same alternate plates and four-spiked tail, but has traditionally been depicted with wery low, rectangular plates instead of pentagonal. According to recent research its plates could have been taller and more ''Stegosaurus''-like than formerly thought. We don't know if it had shoulder spikes or not, but flat bony skin-scutes are known from fossils.

'''Long-necked Stegosaur:''' '[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miragaia_(dinosaur) Miragaia]]''

'''MOAR cousins, this time in China:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huayangosaurus Huayangosaurus]]'' & ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuerhosaurus Wuerhosaurus]]''

* The People's Republic of China has given us about half the steggies around the world. ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chialingosaurus Chialingosaurus]]'' was the first discovered, in 1940s: Late Jurassic, it was similar to ''Kentrosaurus'' and more slender than other stegosaurs. The others have been found since the 1970s: other than ''Tuojiangosaurus'' there are the Middle Jurassic ''Huayangosaurus'' (see below); the small ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chungkingosaurus Chungkingosaurus]]'' (Late Jurassic); ''Jiangjunosaurus'', which was found in the western region of Xinjiang; ''Monkonosaurus'', found in Tibet; ''Wuerhosaurus'' (see also below); and ''Yingshanosaurus'', with flattened shoulder-spikes. A find from the 1990s has received a more obvious name: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantspinosaurus Gigantspinosaurus]]'' (it was not a cross between [[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs a ''Giganotosaurus'' and a ''Spinosaurus'']]!) Kentrosaurus-sized (thus small for stegosaur standards), it had small plates oddily only on its back (not on its tail) and an uncospicuous thagomizer: both features vividly contrast with its truly [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin gigantic spines]] on its shoulders: thick, curved, and each as long as the whole trunk. ''Huayangosaurus'' is particolarly notable because is the most primitive stegosaur known from good fossil material. [[note]]''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatisaurus Tatisaurus]]'' from Early Jurassic was once believed an even more basal stegosaur from Yunnan, but is known only from pieces of bone and it's more likely a scelidosaur instead.[[/note]] It was small, 4 m long, and preserved several ancestral traits in its skeleton, such as a big head, small frontal teeth on its upper jaw, and long forelimbs. The frontal upper teeth is a typical primitive trait among ornithischians, which were lost in more evolved stegosaurs. The huayangosaur's armor, however, was already fully stegosaurian, rather similar to ''Tuojiangosaurus'' with a true thagomizer, and also with shoulder spikes like ''Kentrosaurus''. Because of their primitiveness, ''Huayangosaurus'' (and few others, like ''Chungkingosaurus'' and the little-known ''Craterosaurus'' and ''Regnosaurus'', both from Early Cretaceous England) make a family on their own, Huayangosaurids, while most other stegosaurs make together the more evolved Stegosaurids. At the other extremity, ''Wuerhosaurus'' was one of the latest-surviving stegosaurs, and the most known among the Cretaceous stegosaurs in spite of being scantier than several Jurassic relatives. Almost as large as a ''Stegosaurus'', it had the same alternate plates and four-spiked tail, but has traditionally been depicted with wery low, rectangular plates instead of pentagonal. According to recent research its plates could have been taller and more ''Stegosaurus''-like than formerly thought. We don't know if it had shoulder spikes or not, but flat bony skin-scutes are known from fossils.

Note that all the examples below are found outside North America; indeed, only ''one'' kind of stegosaur is known definitively to come from this landmass, the ever-popular ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Stegosaurus]]''. Another North American genus was described in the 2000s, the round-plated ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesperosaurus Hesperosaurus]]'' ("western lizard"), but it could be another ''Stegosaurus'' species. A third genus, "Diracodon", was named during the Bone Wars, but now is regarded as an invalid synonym of ''Stegosaurus''.

Among non-''Stegosaurus'' stegosaurs, you will see ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Tuojiangosaurus]]'' and ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Kentrosaurus]]'' more often than others, but you could also see ''Dacentrurus'', ''Huayangosaurus'', ''Wuerhosaurus'', ''Lexovisaurus'', and other relatives, as well as getting the occasional mention of "''Dravidosaurus''".

* Two similar-looking stegosaurs are known from Middle Jurassic Europe. Both ''Dacentrurus'' ("tail full of points") and ''Lexovisaurus'' (named from an ancient Celtic people) are found in several European countries (England, France, Portugal). ''Dacentrurus armatus'' was first described in the mid 1800s by Richard Owen with the now-invalid name "Omosaurus", before ''Stegosaurus'' itself was discovered in the USA, while ''Lexovisaurus durobrivensis'' was named in the 20th century. Unfortunately, both are known from incomplete remains, so their appearances and even their sizes are uncertain. Illustrations usually show them with a kentrosaur-like armor (with or without shoulder-spikes), even though the lexovisaur sometimes appears with a more tuojiangosaur-like look. Some suspect ''Dacentrurus'' was a very large animal, maybe even bigger than ''Stegosaurus'' itself, which is usually considered the largest stegosaur. Recently, many alleged "Lexovisaurus" remains have been reclassified in another genus, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loricatosaurus Loricatosaurus]]'' ("armored lizard"). In 2009, a brand new stegosaur was excavated in Portugal: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miragaia_(dinosaur) Miragaia]]''. Late Jurassic like ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Kentrosaurus'', it was medium-sized for a stegosaur, and with its small but abundant plates and unusually long neck, it looks a bit like Dinny from ''ComicStrip/AlleyOop''. Its full scientifical name is ''Miragaia longicollis'', the latter term meaning "long necked".

'''The unpronounceable:''' ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuojiangosaurus Tuojiangosaurus]]''

* Together with ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Kentrosaurus]]'', the most portrayed non-''Stegosaurus'' stegosaur in popular dino-books has been ''Tuojiangosaurus multispinus'' ("many-spined Tuojiang's lizard") -- don't worry if you cannot pronounce that "jiang" correctly, unless you are Chinese or Chinese-speaking of course. Discovered in 1977, ''Tuojiangosaurus'' was basically an Asian variant of ''Stegosaurus'', slightly smaller and with armor intermediate between ''Kentrosaurus'' and ''Stegosaurus'', with narrow, paired plates like the former, but the usual four tail-spikes ([[ComicStrip/TheFarSide thagomizer]]) like the latter. With such small plates, it is uncertain that ''Tuojiangosaurus'' and ''Kentrosaurus'' would have used them as solar panels or radiators, unlike what was very possible for ''Stegosaurus''. The plates of the tuojiangosaur were like sharp isosceles triangles, unlike the more pentagonal ones of ''Stegosaurus''; some pictures show ''Tuojiangosaurus'' with shoulder-spikes like those of ''Kentrosaurus'', but it is unsure whether it had them. Together with the carnivorous ''Yangchuanosaurus'' and the sauropod ''Mamenchisaurus'', ''Tuojiangosaurus'' is one of the three classic dinosaurs from Late Jurassic Asia. ''Tuojiangosaurus'' seems especially common in British dino-books, as a skeleton cast of it has been on display in the Natural History Museum of London since the 1980s, which is often shown in illustrations.

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Note that all the examples below are found outside North America; indeed, only ''one'' kind of stegosaur is known definitively to come from this landmass, the ever-popular ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Stegosaurus]]''. Another North American genus was described in the 2000s, the round-plated ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesperosaurus Hesperosaurus]]'' ("western lizard"), but it could be another ''Stegosaurus'' species. A third genus, "Diracodon", was named during the Bone Wars, but now is regarded as an invalid synonym of ''Stegosaurus''. Among non-stock stegosaurs, you will see ''Tuojiangosaurus'' and ''Kentrosaurus'' more often than others, but you could also see ''Dacentrurus'', ''Huayangosaurus'', ''Wuerhosaurus'', ''Lexovisaurus'', and other relatives, as well as getting the occasional mention of "''Dravidosaurus''".

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* Definitive stegosaurs appeared in the Middle Jurassic: ex. ''Dacentrurus'', ''Lexovisaurus'', other than ''Huayangosaurus''. They reached their heyday in the Late Jurassic with genera such as ''Stegosaurus'', ''Tuojiangosaurus'', ''Kentrosaurus'', ''Chialingosaurus'', ''Gigantspinosaurus'', ''Miragaia'', and several others. However, they began to decline in Early Cretaceous, perhaps due to competition from the more armored ankylosaurs, yet there were still a few holdouts such as ''Wuerhosaurus'' and the african ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranthodon Paranthodon]]''. However, there was a stegosaur which, uniquely, survived until the Late Cretaceous: ''Dravidosaurus''. Discovered in 1979, it's one of the few dinosaurs found in Indian subcontinent, a huge separate landmass in the Late Mesozoic. ''Dravidosaurus'' (whose name could be translated to "lizard of Southern India") somehow managed to arrive there, and flourished thanks to the absence of competition which other relatives faced in the mainland. Its status as "the last stegosaur" gave it several mentions in books and even some documentaries, which usually showed it like an undersized "Stegosaurus" (it was believed one of the smallest stegosaurs ever). However, all this was [[ScienceMarchesOn shown to be false]]. In 1996, a re-examination of its extremely fragmentary remains has revealed our Last Stegosaur to be 1. not a stegosaur, 2. not a dinosaur, and 3. not even a land-dweller. It was a marine reptile, more precisely a [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeNonDinosaurianReptiles plesiosaur]].

* Definitive stegosaurs appeared in the Middle Jurassic: ex. ''Dacentrurus'', ''Lexovisaurus'', other than ''Huayangosaurus''. They reached their heyday in the Late Jurassic with genera such as ''Stegosaurus'', ''Tuojiangosaurus'', ''Kentrosaurus'', ''Gigantspinosaurus'', ''Miragaia'', and several others. However, they began to decline in Early Cretaceous, perhaps due to competition from the more armored ankylosaurs, yet there were still a few holdouts such as ''Wuerhosaurus'' and the african ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranthodon Paranthodon]]''. However, there was a stegosaur which, uniquely, survived until the Late Cretaceous: ''Dravidosaurus''. Discovered in 1979, it's one of the few dinosaurs found in Indian subcontinent, a huge separate landmass in the Late Mesozoic. ''Dravidosaurus'' (whose name could be translated to "lizard of Southern India") somehow managed to arrive there, and flourished thanks to the absence of competition which other relatives faced in the mainland. Its status as "the last stegosaur" gave it several mentions in books and even some documentaries, which usually showed it like an undersized "Stegosaurus" (it was believed one of the smallest stegosaurs ever). However, all this was [[ScienceMarchesOn shown to be false]]. In 1996, a re-examination of its extremely fragmentary remains has revealed our Last Stegosaur to be 1. not a stegosaur, 2. not a dinosaur, and 3. not even a land-dweller. It was a marine reptile, more precisely a [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeNonDinosaurianReptiles plesiosaur]].