Kentrosaurus

Kentrosaurus aethiopicus

Kentrosaurus was a smaller relative of Stegosaurus from Africa. Unlike Stegosaurus, it had more spikes than plates along its back. A large shoulder spine provided additional defense against predators.

Physical Description

Measurement	Value	Human Scale
Longueur	4.5 m	roughly the length of a large SUV
Height	1.5 m	—
Poids	700 kg	about 10 adult humans

Diet & Feeding

Herbivore

Kentrosaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur. Herbivores typically fed on ferns, cycads, conifers, and other vegetation available during their era. Many herbivorous dinosaurs developed specialized teeth and digestive systems for processing tough plant material.

Time Period

Jurassic Late Mesozoic Era

Kentrosaurus lived during the Jurassic Late period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 161,5 to 145,0 million years ago.

One of the most iconic periods for dinosaurs. Giant sauropods like Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus roamed alongside predators like Allosaurus. Archaeopteryx, the earliest known bird, appeared. The Morrison Formation preserves an extraordinary fossil record from this time.

Discovery & Naming

Nommé par	Edwin Hennig
Année de découverte	1915
Lieu de découverte	Tendaguru Formation, Tanzania

Classification

Dinosauria → Ornithischia → Thyreophora → Stegosauria → Kentrosaurus

Plated dinosaurs

Herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by large bony plates along the back and tail spikes (thagomizer). Most common in the Late Jurassic. Stegosaurus is the best-known member.