Thursday, December 24, 2015

The Dinosaur Tales of December. The Carol of the Stegosaurs

                                                         Chialingosaurus
 So far only known from a partial skeleton,‭ ‬Chialingosaurus was still one of the first and hence most important stegosaur discoveries to take place in Asia.‭ ‬At up to four meters long it seems to have been small but comparable in size to Chungkingosaurus that is also known from the Shaximiao Formation.‭ ‬However there is enough difference between the fossils of both genera to discount the idea that they may be synonymous,‭ ‬specifically when dealing with the shape and form of plates and bones.‭ ‬Another stegosaur that lived at the same time and location as Chialingosaurus is the much larger Tuojiangosaurus.
       Chialingosaurus had an arrangement of spikes that ran down its tail that would have been used both as display so that it could identify others of its own genus from the similarly sized Chungkingosaurus as well as defence from predatory dinosaurs such as Sinraptor,‭ ‬Yangchuanosaurus and Leshansaurus.‭ ‬However given its small size it is uncertain how effective this defence would have been against such large predators,‭ ‬and perhaps it may have been intended for defence against smaller predatory dinosaurs.

       Chialingosaurus shared its ecosystem with other ornithischian dinosaurs‭ ‬like Agilisaurus‭ ‬as well as the much larger sauropod dinosaurs like and Mamenchisaurus.
Chungkingosaurus
   As stegosaurs go Chungkingosaurus was towards the smaller end of the scale at four meters long.‭ ‬The hips and humerus‭ (‬upper arm bone‭) ‬of Chungkingosaurus seem to be quite primitive when compared to other stegosaurs.‭ ‬The skull is also deep which might be a relict primitive trait,‭ ‬or an adaptation for supporting stronger muscles for eating tougher vegetation.‭ ‬The plates of Chungkingosaurus that run down the back and tail are arranged in plates rather than in an alternating pattern,‭ ‬as has been proposed for the more famous Stegosaurus.‭ ‬Unfortunately however the total number of plates is still unknown.‭ ‬Like with many other stegosaurs,‭ ‬the thagomizer on the end of the tail was composed of two pairs of spikes that pointed out to the sides.

       Hailing from China there is sometimes confusion regarding which fossil bearing Formation Chungkingosaurus comes from.‭ ‬Chungkingosaurus is known from the Dashanpu Formation,‭ ‬but this actually covers‭ ‬four other formations.‭ ‬These are the Upper Shaximiao,‭ ‬Lower Shaximiao,‭ ‬Zhenchuchong and Ziliujing Formations,‭ ‬and of these Chungkingosaurus is currently only known from the Upper Shaximiao.‭ ‬Other stegosaurs from the Upper Shaximiao Formation that Chungkingosaurus may have come shared its habitat with include Chialingosaurus,‭ ‬Gigantspinosaurus and Tuojiangosaurus.‭ ‬As a huayangosaurid stegosaur, ‬Chungkingosaurus was closely related to the Huayangosaurus from the Lower Shaximiao.
       Chungkingosaurus also shared its habitat with larger sauropod dinosaurs such as Mamenchisaurus,‭ ‬and may have had to defend itself against predatory dinosaurs such as Sinraptor,‭ ‬Leshansaurus and Yangchuanosaurus.‭
Dacentrurus
   Dacentrurus was originally named Omosaurus armatus in‭ ‬1875‭ ‬by the famous British palaeontologist Richard Owen,‭ ‬however the genus name of Omosaurus was already used to name another animal.‭ ‬This led to the‭ ‬1902‭ ‬renaming by Frederic Lucas,‭ ‬although the species name was still retained in creating the type species of the new genus,‭ ‬as is standard procedure for such a‭ ‬renaming.

        ‬Unlike more famous genera that have plates all the way down the back to a spiked‭ ‘‬thagomizer‭’ ‬on the end of the tail,‭ ‬Dacentrurus had eight pairs of triangular plates that ran from the neck to the posterior end of the sacrum‭ (‬hip‭)‬,‭ ‬which were then followed by four pairs of large spikes that ran down to the thagomizer‭ (‬four more pairs of spikes that pointed to the sides‭)‬.‭ ‬This arrangement is very similar to the African stegosaur Kentrosaurus,‭ ‬though analysis suggests that the closest relative of Dacentrurus was Miragaia.‭ ‬Another study has also revealed that Dacentrurus is one of if not the closest relative of the North American Hesperosaurus.
       Dacentrurus lived in the Kimmeridgian area of the late Jurassic period,‭ ‬the heyday for the stegosaurs where they seem to have been at their most successful.‭ ‬Aside from being discovered in England,‭ ‬further remains have been in France and Spain with a particularly large number coming from Portugal.‭ ‬Study of late Jurassic ecosystems in North America has brought the strong suggestion that stegosaurs regularly came into conflict with theropod dinosaurs like Allosaurus.‭ ‬This predator/prey interaction may have also happened in late Jurassic Europe,‭ ‬although most of the large theropods such as Dubreuillosaurus and Poekilopleuron are so far only known from earlier in the Jurassic.
Gigantspinosaurus
At a glance the name Gigantspinosaurus gives the impression of an oversized gargantuan Spinosaurus,‭ ‬a particularly exciting but frightening prospect when you consider what that dinosaur was.‭ ‬In realty however Gigantspinosaurus actually a stegosaur,‭ ‬perhaps the farthest a dinosaur can get from being one of the spinosaurs.

       The name Gigantspinosaurus is actually a reference to the huge shoulder spines that grown from the shoulder area,‭ ‬similar to some like Kentrosaurus but upon a larger scale.‭ ‬These spines are thought to have provided Gigantspinosaurus with additional defence from large theropod dinosaurs like Sinraptor,‭ ‬but the exaggerated size may have also served as a display function.‭ ‬The other plates and spines were small in comparison to other stegosaurs,‭ ‬and this seems to fit in with the notion that Gigantspinosaurus is one of the most basal stegosaurs known.‭ ‬Primitive forms are noted for having shoulder spines and small plates,‭ ‬while more advanced forms like Stegosaurus have better developed plates but lack shoulder spines.
       Gigantspinosaurus is still sometimes credited as being a nomen nudum‭ (‬naked name‭) ‬and not representative of a specific genus,‭ ‬but this all stems back to an incomplete translation of the original Chinese description.‭ ‬Today,‭ ‬palaeontologists readily recognise Gigantspinosaurus as a basal stegosaur,‭ ‬and this dinosaur has been the subject of a lot of study since.‭ ‬The type species name G.‭ ‬sichuanensis means‭ ‘‬from Sichuan‭’‬.

Hesperosaurus
The most famous stegosaur from the Morrison formation is Stegosaurus itself‭; ‬however the discovery of Hesperosaurus is proof that Stegosaurus was not the only dinosaur of its type around here during this point of the Jurassic.‭ ‬Like with Stegosaurus,‭ ‬Hesperosaurus had a series of large plates that ran down the length of its back in an alternating series of placements‭ (‬as opposed to sequenced pairs that are common in older restorations of Stegosaurus‭)‬.‭ ‬The plates of Hesperosaurus are distinguishable from Stegosaurus for being wider than they are tall.‭ ‬Theories about plate function have covered everything from defence to thermoregulation,‭ ‬but the differences in plate shape between different stegosaur genera and species is more indicative of a display purpose so that a‭ ‬specific individual stegosaur could recognise others of its own kind.

       Hesperosaurus also has a four spike thagomizer on the end of its tail,‭ ‬but the spikes seem to fit better when they are angled slightly backwards so that they point away from the body.‭ ‬It is this feature that palaeontologists‭ ‬are confident in declaring‭ ‬as a defensive weapon since a theropod tail vertebrae has been found with thagomizer spike shaped damage to it.‭ ‬Possible predators of Hesperosaurus could include theropod dinosaurs such as Ceratosaurus and Allosaurus‭; ‬in fact it is the latter here that has the thagomizer damaged vertebrae attributed to it.‭ ‬Additionally other fossil evidence suggests that Allosaurus would attack dinosaurs like Hesperosaurus.
       Because of its presence in the Morrison Formation and similar shaped plates,‭ ‬it would be tempting to suggest that Hesperosaurus was closely related to Stegosaurus.‭ ‬However while these two genera are related in that they are the same type of dinosaur,‭ ‬in depth study has revealed that Hesperosaurus is actually more closely related to Dacentrurus,‭ ‬a genus of stegosaur from Europe.
Huayangosaurus
  With fossils going back to the mid Jurassic,‭ ‬it comes as no surprise that Huayangosaurus is a more primitive stegosaur than better known genera from the late Jurassic.‭ ‬The skull of Huayangosaurus is broader than later forms which reveals it was not as well adapted to selective browsing.‭ ‬The premaxilla also still has teeth,‭ ‬which would disappear from more advanced forms.‭ ‬The back plates of Huayangosaurus are tall and spike-like though a clear distinction can still be made between them and proper spikes.‭ ‬The thagomizer of the tail has the stegosaur standard of two pairs of spikes that point out to the sides.

       Huayangosaurus is the best known stegosaur from the Lower Shaximiao Formation,‭ ‬with other stegosaur genera from the collective Dashanpu Formation which include Chungkingosaurus,‭ ‬Chialingosaurus‭, ‬Gigantspinosaurus and Tuojiangosaurus all being recovered from the upper Shaximiao Formation.‭ ‬Conditions in Dashanpu seem to be conducive to producing small stegosaurs since out of these four,‭ ‬only Tuojiangosaurus is bigger than Huayangosaurus.
       Huayangosaurus still lived amongst similar fauna to its later relatives,‭ ‬with the next dominant type of herbivores being sauropods such as Omeisaurus and Shunosaurus being common.‭ ‬Huayangosaurus also had no shortage of potential predators with candidates including Yangchuanosaurus,‭ ‬Xuanhanosaurus,‭ ‬Gasosaurus and Kaijiangosaurus,‭ ‬with possible others also posing threats.
Kentrosaurus
 After Stegosaurus itself,‭ ‬Kentrosaurus is easily the best known of the stegosaurs.‭ Many herbivores were known to have herded,‭ ‬and support for this in Kentrosaurus comes from the massive collection of bones from the‭ ‬Tendaguru beds.‭ ‬Like other Stegosaurs,‭ ‬Kentrosaurus was considered to be a low browser,‭ ‬although it‭’‬s considered possible for Kentrosaurus to rear up on its hind legs.

       The weight distribution of Kentrosaurus is interesting as the centre of mass is placed just forward of the hip,‭ ‬unusual in a quadrupedal animal.‭ ‬This means that very little of the body weight was supported by the front legs,‭ ‬and suggests that Kentrosaurus had‭ ‬a very tight turning circle.‭ 
       Defensive wise,‭ ‬the plates on the body of Kentrosaurus would not have offered a lot of protection.‭ ‬Even the plates on Stegosaurus were not able to provide sufficient protection from large predators,‭ ‬and those on Kentrosaurus were even smaller.‭ ‬They probably were left more as a display mechanism for attracting mates.‭ ‬However the spikes on the tail were a different matter.‭ ‬The tail had a large number of vertebrae,‭ ‬at least‭ ‬forty,‭ ‬and would have been extremely flexible.‭ ‬Coupled with Kentrosaurus’s ability to pivot round on its hind legs,‭ ‬it would have easily been able to keep its spikes pointed towards an attacking predator.‭ ‬Because the spikes ran the entire length of the tail,‭ ‬it would have been virtually unassailable from behind.‭ ‬Assuming‭ ‬that‭ ‬Kentrosaurus was a herding animal,‭ ‬this defence may have even been combined with others to produce a wall of swaying spikes making only isolated individuals potentially vulnerable.
       Kentrosaurus once almost lost its name because of the ceratopsian dinosaur Centrosaurus.‭ ‬This gave rise to the alternate names of Kentrurosaurus and Doryphorosaurus.‭ ‬However not only are Kentrosaurus and Centrosaurus spelled diferently they are pronounced differently,‭ ‬Kentrosaurus with a‭ ‘‬kicking K‭’‬,‭ ‬and Centrosaurus with a soft C pronounced more like an S.‭ ‬This is why renaming was never really required and Kentrurosaurus and Doryphorosaurus are considered Synonyms.
Lexovisaurus
 Like with many dinosaurs named from English fossils in the nineteenth century,‭ ‬Lexovisaurus has a complex taxonomic history,‭ ‬but it can be broken down like this.‭ ‬Current fossils of Lexovisaurus were originally described in‭ ‬1887as Omosaurus a genus that had different species.‭ ‬However it was later realised that the name Omosaurus was preoccupied,‭ ‬so the fossils of the dinosaur were named as Dacentrurus in‭ ‬1915.‭ ‬Then in‭ ‬1957‭ ‬a French palaeontologist by the name of Robert Hoffstetter renamed fossils of one species,‭ ‬D.‭ ‬durobrivensis,‭ ‬as a new genus,‭ ‬Lexovisaurus.

       At the time of writing Lexovisaurus is only known from scattered post cranial skeletal fossils which include vertebrae and a large spike that is currently of uncertain placement.‭ ‬Because of this lack of fossils in the holotype,‭ ‬the exact shape and arrangement of the spikes and plates on the back and tail of Lexovisaurus is unknown,‭ ‬with reconstructions based upon the arrangements of those that appear in other stegosaurid genera.‭ ‬However additional specimens from England and France however may indicate that‭ ‬Lexovisaurus had low plates on the forwards half of the body,‭ ‬and rounded spines on the rear half,‭ ‬but there is still some contention amongst palaeontologists as to if these represent additional specimens of Lexovisaurus.
Miragaia
At first glance you might be forgiven for thinking that Miragaia is some kind of hybrid between a stegosaur and a sauropod.‭ ‬Well in actuality Miragaia is a stegosaur,‭ ‬although the long neck and long forelimbs make it quite different from classic examples such as Stegosaurus and Kentrosaurus.‭ ‬The most likely cause for this different body morph‭ ‬is that Miragaia specialised to feed upon taller vegetation,‭ ‬and a longer neck would not just increase reach but could cover a larger area without the need for Miragaia to physically move its body.

       The long neck was composed of at least seventeen vertebrae,‭ ‬some of which appear to be specially positioned dorsal vertebrae that were carried further forward.‭ ‬The vertebrae also seem to be more elongated than other stegosaurids.‭ ‬Because the front limbs were almost as high as the rear limbs,‭ ‬the overall posture of Miragaia would be more horizontally level to the ground.‭ ‬Most other stegosaurids had bodies that sloped down to the ground so that their heads were better situated for low browsing.‭ ‬The tail for Miragaia is still unknown but is usually reconstructed with a four spiked thagomizer like many other stegosaurids possess.‭

Regnosaurus
The holotype fossil of a partial jaw of Regnosaurus was recovered by Gideon Mantell who considered it to belong to an unknown large prehistoric animal.‭ ‬Mantell would later name his animal Igaunodon,‭ ‬though it was still referred to as a big lizard since the word dinosaur had still not been invented.‭ ‬Mantell realised that he had made a mistake when the real jaws of Igaunodon began to be recovered and so created the genus Regnosaurus.

       So far the only definitive fossil of Regnosaurus is the original jaw bone and this is‭ ‬why the genus today is considered a nomen dubium.‭ ‬Unless remains that include an identical jaw segment are ever found,‭ ‬it is impossible to assign any further fossil discoveries to this genus.‭ ‬This is why even though isolated remains which have been considered to belong to the genus are not officially declared to be a part of it‭; ‬the validity of the remains simply can’t be proven.
       Usually Regnosaurus is interpreted as being part of a stegosaur,‭ ‬perhaps even being closely related to ones like Huayangosaurus,‭ ‬making it a huayanosaurid.‭ ‬Other palaeontologists have had different opinions about the specimens‭ ‬in the past however,‭ ‬with John Ostrom thinking that it might be a sauropod,‭ ‬to even Alfred Romer thinking that it should be a synonym to Hylaeosaurus,‭ ‬one of the three dinosaurs‭ (‬the others being Igaunodon and Megalosaurus‭) ‬that were used by Richard Owen to define the Dinosauria in‭ ‬1842.
Stegosaurus
  With its distinctive back plates,‭ ‬Stegosaurus is one of the best represented dinosaurs in popular culture today.‭ ‬Initially thought to just live in the USA,‭ ‬a partial skeleton discovered in‭ ‬2006‭ ‬places Stegosaurus in Portugal.‭ ‬This has significantly increased the known range of this animal and further reinforced the theory that North America and Europe would have been connected during this time.

       Living the life of a low browser in the Jurassic,‭ ‬Stegosaurus seems to have concentrated upon eating soft and leafy vegetation that did not require much effort to chew.‭ ‬Studies have shown that Stegosaurus probably did not have much bite force,‭ ‬but the shape of its teeth would do most of the work for it.‭ ‬Fossilised teeth show extra wear on the sides where they would have been sharpest,‭ ‬meaning all Stegosaurus would have to do is bite onto the plant and pull its head back and its teeth would cut through the soft vegetation. Because of the aforementioned method of eating,‭ ‬Stegosaurus probably relied upon its gut to do the main work in breaking down the plant material for nutrients,‭ ‬and may have swallowed stones for use as gastroliths to aid this process.


Kentrosaurus, Miragaia, Tuojiangosaurus, Dacentrurus.
       Stegosaurus had a body type similar to many other stegosaurids in that the hind legs were much longer than the fore legs,‭ ‬carrying the hips high above the rest of the body.‭ ‬When first discovered it was thought that Stegosaurus could have been bipedal,‭ ‬and this continued until examination of the forelegs combined with the estimated bulk and weight of the animal had Stegosaurus re-cast as a quadruped.‭ ‬Although now known to be quadrupedal,‭ ‬most of the weight seems to be balanced towards the hips and carried by the hind legs,‭ ‬giving Stegosaurus a reasonably tight turning arc that could have been very useful in defending itself.‭ ‬Another advantage of the high hips is that the head is always held closer to the ground and nearer its food sources,‭ ‬while the tail and thagomizer‭ (‬arrangement of spikes‭) ‬would be always carried at a height that would allow for a body strike on an attacking predator.‭ 
       It goes without saying that Stegosaurus is most famous for the plates that run along its back,‭ ‬in fact its name meaning‭ ‘‬roof lizard‭’ ‬is in reference to them.‭ ‬The plates themselves are specially developed osteoderms that have no fixed join with the skeleton.‭ ‬When named,‭ ‬the plates were mistakenly placed flat across its back like the tiles on a roof,‭ ‬hence the name‭ ‘‬roof lizard‭’‬.‭ ‬Discovery of more complete fossils later revealed that they were placed vertical as opposed to horizontal.‭ ‬However they were then placed in a single row which in itself caused problems as the plates would overlap.‭ ‬The third arrangement was of the more familiar double row configuration,‭ ‬with the plates being arranged in pairs to one another.‭ ‬There was still a problem with this in that each plate was different in size meaning there could be no true pairs as they were all different.‭ ‬This has led to the fourth arrangement which has been generally accepted since the second half of the twentieth century.‭ ‬This arrangement is two rows of plates in an alternating configuration,‭ ‬meaning that when viewed from the side there would be no gaps of daylight between the plates.‭ ‬Some have called this configuration into question on the basis that there is no other precedent for the arrangement,‭ ‬but that does not mean that the current accepted arrangement is wrong.‭ ‬The world of natural history is full of‭ ‘‬freaks‭’ ‬that don’t seem to make sense,‭ ‬yet continue to thrive regardless of how much sense their adaptations make to us.
       If the placement of the plates was not confusing enough the function of them has been even more demanding of understanding.‭ ‬One theory that can be discounted is the one of defence.‭ ‬While large and impressive,‭ ‬the plates were actually very fragile and would not have been able to withstand much punishment.‭ ‬The second theory is that of thermoregulation,‭ ‬and the evidence to support this comes from grooves in the plates that would have allowed blood vessels to run through them.‭ ‬The blood would then be carried close to the skin where temperature adjustment could take place.‭ ‬The third theory,‭ ‬one that has rapidly gained more credence amongst the paleontological community is that they were used for display,‭ ‬particularly for intimidating rivals and attracting mates.‭ ‬This may have involved the flushing of blood into the plates to provide a vivid colour display necessitating the need for blood vessels in the plates.‭ ‬One argument against both thermoregulation and colour change is that the plates would have been covered with keratin,‭ ‬which does not allow for efficient heat exchange or rapid visual colour change.‭ 
       Another body part that has had to be revised is the thagomizer.‭ ‬Early representations had the spikes arranged in upward angles,‭ ‬but with further study they are now accepted to have stuck out to the sides.‭ ‬It‭’‬s likely that it was the thagomizer that was the primary form of defence.‭ ‬Although the plates that ran down the tail would be of a hindrance to its flexibility,‭ ‬Stegosaurus would likely been able to pivot on its hind legs easily keeping its tail presented to an attacking predator.‭ ‬In fact,‭ ‬remains of an Allosaurus have been found that show a serious injury to the tail vertebrae that upon examination appears to have been caused by a thagomizer spike from a Stegosaurus.


Ceratosaurus, Saurophaganax, Allosaurus, Torvosaurus.
       The final area of contention is the cavity in the spinal cord of the hip region.‭ ‬This was once conceived as a nerve cluster which was then in turn misinterpreted as a second brain,‭ ‬perhaps in compensation for its actual brain which has famously been described as the size of a walnut.‭ ‬In reality the second brain theory is impossible in the realms of known science.‭ ‬Thankfully however this cavity is not exclusive to Stegosaurus,‭ ‬it also seems to appear in other dinosaurs and more importantly modern birds.‭ ‬Study of this body has given rise to the notion that it is a glycogen body.‭ ‬This body allows for the storage of excess glycogen,‭ ‬a molecule that is used for energy storage in animals and fungi.‭ ‬While the precise method of use is uncertain this may have acted in a way similar to an adrenaline burst in the flight or fight reflex.‭ ‬With the release of glycogen,‭ ‬the muscles would get a sudden burst of energy allowing for more active movement,‭ ‬perhaps for the swinging of the thagomizer at an attacking Allosaurus.
Tuojiangosaurus
Tuojiangosaurus was the first stegosaurid to be discovered in China,‭ ‬and today remains the best known from Asia.‭ ‬Tuojiangosaurus itself is seen as a basal‭ (‬primitive‭) ‬form that displays a standard stegosaurid shape and posture while retaining features that would be lost in later genera.‭ ‬Tuojiangosaurus seems to have been limited to a quadrupedal posture that saw its head held close to the ground where it could feed upon low vegetation.‭ ‬The teeth of Tuojiangosaurus are similar to those of other related dinosaurs and are more suitable for use upon softer vegetation that did not require a lot of pull to remove from the main plants.

       Tuojiangosaurus had very distinctive back plates that are tall,‭ ‬narrow and triangular.‭ ‬These plates run from the neck to about half way down on the tail,‭ ‬and like most stegosaurids,‭ ‬were at their largest when over the hips.‭ ‬While early depictions of stegosaurids saw these plates as being for either defence or thermoregulation,‭ ‬modern analysis has found the plates to‭ ‬not‭ ‬really be suitable for either of these purposes.‭ ‬The plates themselves are too weak and brittle to protect against a powerful bite,‭ ‬and not adapted enough for an efficient thermoregulation purpose.‭ ‬This leaves the explanation of inter species display where stegosaurids could recognise others of their‭ ‬kind by the shape and arrangement of the plates which differed between individual genera and species.
       One part of Tuojiangosaurus that was almost certainly for defence against predators was the spiked tail or‭ ‘‬thagomizer‭’ ‬as it is known.‭ ‬The spikes on Tuojiangosaurus’s thagomizer were arranged at a forty-five degree angle,‭ ‬and evidence associated with other stegosaurids strongly indicates that this was an active weapon for use against attacking dinosaurs.‭ ‬Whereas the thagomizer spikes of Stegosaurus were used against predators like Allosaurus,‭ ‬the thagomizer of Tuojiangosaurus was likely a defence against similar predatory theropod dinosaurs such as Sinraptor.
Wuerhosaurus
Wuerhosaurus is currently the latest surviving known member of the stegosaur group.‭ ‬In being so,‭ ‬the temporal range of these kinds of dinosaurs has been significantly extended up to the middle Cretaceous,‭ ‬forty-five million years after their Jurassic heyday.

       Unfortunately Wuerhosaurus is only represented by partial remains,‭ ‬making accurate reconstruction of this stegosaurid problematic.‭ ‬The dorsal plates were initially conceived as being‭ '‬flat‭' ‬at the top as opposed to pointed like in so many of the others of the group,‭ ‬but further research has suggested that they were simply broken,‭ ‬giving the false impression that they were flattened.‭ ‬It has also been presumed that Wuerhosaurus possessed a thagomizer like other Stegosaurids,‭ ‬but analysis has suggested that the single spike recovered may have in fact projected from the shoulder.
       The hips appear to be even wider than other stegosaurids in what is thought to accommodate a larger digestive area.‭ ‬The head is also carried lower to the ground for low browsing,‭ ‬implying that Wuerhosaurus carried the characteristic stegosaurid morphology to even greater extremes than its predecessors.‭ ‬Wuerhosaurus was also moderately sized for its kind with the type species,‭ ‬W.‭ ‬homheni being the larger at an estimated length of up to seven meters,‭ ‬with W.‭ ‬ordonsensis being smaller at an estimated length of up to five meters.
       Some palaeontologists consider Wuerhosaurus to be synonymous with the more well-known Stegosaurus.‭ ‬The problem here is that Stegosaurus is known only until the Tithonian of the Jurassic,‭ ‬and is also from a completely different geographical location.‭ ‬These too reasons are often justified as enough cause to isolate two similar animals into a separate genus for each,‭ ‬but as is often the case,‭ ‬only new and more complete fossil material would be enough to prove either theory without doubt. It is not completely out of the question that Wuerhosaurus could have been a late surviving descendent of Stegosaurus.
Monkonosaurus
 Monkonosaurus is a dubious genus of stegosaur that lived in what is now Tibet during the late Jurassic.‭ ‬Monkonosaurus is considered to be dubious because only a few bones are known,‭ ‬and these may not be diagnostic enough to assign further fossil remains to.
Paranthodon
Paranthodon remains were first described when they were incorrectly included with the remains of a parieasaur named Anthodon.‭ ‬The inclusion of these remains also gave the incorrect identification for Anthodon as a dinosaur instead of a parieasaur until‭ ‬1912‭ ‬when Robert Broom separated an upper jaw from the genus.‭ ‬While Broom correctly identified the jaw as that of a dinosaur and not a parieasaur,‭ ‬he placed it within an existing‭ ‘‬wastebasket‭’ ‬genus of Palaeoscincus,‭ ‬as P.‭ ‬africanus.‭ ‬In‭ ‬1929‭ ‬Franz Nopcsa studied the specimen,‭ ‬and unaware that Robert Broom has already classified it as that of a dinosaur,‭ ‬created a new genus and type species,‭ ‬Paranthodon owenii.‭ ‬In‭ ‬1978,‭ ‬another palaeontologist named Walter Coombs altered owenii to oweni which is the correct grammar,‭ ‬and since this time this has been the standard named type species reference for this genus.‭ ‬It should be pointed out at this point that Paleoscincus is widely considered to be a dubious dinosaur genus because it was first named by a description of only the teeth.

       Although Franz Nopsca made the correct identification of Paranthodon as a stegosaur,‭ ‬many others instead interpreted the partial remains of this genus as those of an ankylosaur,‭ ‬another armoured but quite different type of dinosaur.‭ ‬It would not be until‭ ‬1981‭ ‬when another palaeontologists named Peter Galton actually demonstrated that Paranthodon was indeed a stegosaur and not an ankylosaur.
       As you may expect,‭ ‬Paranthodon would have been a quadrupedal low browsing dinosaur,‭ ‬that had plates and possibly spines running along its back.‭ ‬However since these have so far not been discovered,‭ ‬it is impossible to be certain to their arrangement.‭ ‬A‭ ‬2008‭ ‬report by Maidment et al places Paranthodon as closely related to Loricatosaurus,‭ ‬Tuojiangosaurus and Stegosaurus.
Jiangjunosaurus
 Jiangjunosaurus is a genus of stegosaurid dinosaur that lived in China during the earlier part of late Jurassic.‭ ‬Though Jiangjunosaurus is far from complete,‭ ‬this stegosaur is known to have had a skull that was elongated in proportion to its width.‭ ‬Jiangjunosaurus was found by itself,‭ ‬and because generals are buried in temples by themselves,‭ ‬the name Jiangjunosaurus was chosen as‭ ‘‬Jiangjun‭’ ‬is Chinese for‭ ‘‬general‭’‬.
       Other dinosaurs that are known from the same fossil bearing formation as Jiangjunosaurus include the primitive ceratopsian dinosaur Yinlong,‭ ‬and sauropods such as Mamenchisaurus,‭ ‬Bellusaurus and Tienshanosaurus.‭ ‬Numerous small theropod dinosaurs such as Guanlong,‭ ‬Zuolong and Aorun may have also lived in the same habitat as Jiangjunosaurus,‭ ‬but particular predatory threats to Jiangjunosaurus likely include the larger Monolophosaurus and Sinraptor.‭ ‬In the skies above Jiangjunosaurus,‭ ‬pterosaurs such as Sericipterus flew.
Craterosaurus
A single fossil exists from Craterosaurus which was found in Bedfordshire, England, in 1874. This fossil is a vertebra from Craterosaurus' back.

Everything we know about Craterosaurus is based on this single fossil, and by comparing it to other plated dinosaurs of the time.

Craterosaurus is believed to have been a small stegosaurid.
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