Reconstruction of a dinosaur, Stegosaurus. This genus of quadruped herbivores was characterised by the rows of bony plates along the back. The presenc

---

Reconstruction of a dinosaur, Stegosaurus. This genus of quadruped herbivores was characterised by the rows of bony plates along the back. The presence of channels inside the plates of fossil specimens has suggested that they were used in the regulation of body temperature - a radiator during hot periods and a solar energy collector in the morning. The plates also had some defensive role, augmented by large spines at the end of the tail. Stegosaurs lived in the late Jurassic period (about 160 million years before present), grew to a length of 9 metres and probably weighed some 3 tonnes. This reconstruction is at the Palais de la Decouverte, Paris.

---

Size: 3720px × 2502px
Photo credit: © CATHERINE POUEDRAS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, animals, dinosaur, model, palaeontology, paleontology, stegosaurus