Kentrosaurus

Kentrosaurus was a medium-sized stegosaur known from hundreds of bones discovered in the famous Tendaguru beds of Tanzania. Living during the Late Jurassic, it differed markedly from its North American cousin Stegosaurus by featuring smaller plates on its neck and shoulders that gradually gave way to pairs of sharp, elongated spines down its back and tail. In addition, it bore a large spine projecting outward from each shoulder or hip, giving it extensive flank protection. Measuring around four and a half metres long and weighing about a tonne, Kentrosaurus was a low browser feeding on shrubby vegetation. Biomechanical studies indicate its flexible tail could swing sideways at high speed across wide arcs, making its spiked tip a potent weapon against predatory megalosauroids.

Unlike Stegosaurus, Kentrosaurus had prominent shoulder spines extending outward from each flank.

Where and when

Kentrosaurus lived in the Late Jurassic, from 154.8 to 149.2 million years ago (Kimmeridgian age). Its remains come from Tanzania, in the Tendaguru Formation.

The numbers

Length 4.3 m (estimates run from 4 to 4.5 m). Mass about 880 kg. Hip height about 1.5 m. That is 2.5 human-lengths, or 0.38 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from near-complete skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

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