Project Description

(201 – 145 million years ago) — Mascot: Stegosaurus — During the Late Jurassic, dinosaur life grows gigantic, and birds appear. Originally scientists thought that a Stegosaurus’ back plates lay flat along its spine, like shingles on a roof. Thus its name, “roof reptile.” Stegosaurus armatus is the largest known of this genus, and was discovered nearby. Fossil evidence suggests that these dinosaurs started life as small as modern day kittens. An infant Stegosaurus could curl up and sleep in the hind paw track of its mother or father.