Top 5 Facts: Stegosaurus

1. Plate debate
The arrangement of the Stegosaurus’s plates has been a major controversy in the palaeontology sphere. Academics have suggested four possible configurations.

2. Hip to be brainy
On finding a large canal in the hip region of the spine, some have argued it could have been the place of a secondary ‘brain’ structure, responsible for controlling rear reflexes.

3. Prosperous dino
Evidence implies Stegosaurus was a very successful species, with fossilised remains widely distributed geographically and temporally across the entire Late Jurassic period.

4. Four footed
When the first Stegosaurus remains were unearthed in 1877, it was believed to be a bipedal creature. But as new specimens emerged, it was reclassified as a quadruped.

5. Species
There are four confirmed species: S armatus, S stenops, S sulcatus and S longispinus. There are also four unconfirmed species from incomplete specimens.