Stegosaurus and Spinosaurus - Armstrong, BC - Dinosaur Statues on Waymarking.com

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Stegosaurus and Spinosaurus - Armstrong, BC

in Dinosaur Statues

Posted by:  T0SHEA

11U E 348386 N 5595232

Midway between Armstrong and Enderby on Highway 97 is the "Log Barn 1912", a touristy place which specializes in old-fashioned mennonite sausage, cheese, butter crust pies, jam and jellies. Outside is an eclectic variety of attractions.

Here is a pair of 70 to 150 million year old dinosaurs, a Stegosaurus and what may be a Spinosaurus. While Stegosaurus was an armored herbivore, the Spinosaurus was a meat eater, a carnivore. Stegosaurus evolved earlier than Spinosaurus, possibly living twice as long ago as did Spinosaurus.

Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus was a herbivore (plant-eater) that lived in North America and Europe (the first European specimen was found in Portugal in 2006) during the late Jurassic period, about 155 to 144 million years ago. The creature's name, which was chosen by Othniel C. Marsh in 1877, means "roof lizard".

Stegosaurus was up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) long. An average Stegosaurus was around 20 feet (6.1 meters) long, and weighed 2 tons. Stegosaurus had much longer hind legs than forelegs, and very strong muscles around its hips. So, although Stegosaurus walked on all fours, it is thought likely that the animal could have lifted its forelegs off the ground to eat from the branches of trees.

Stegosaurus bony plates on its back that could have been used for protection, and possibly temperature regulation. The largest of the plates were over 2 feet (60 centimeters) high. Nobody is absolutely sure how the plates on the back were arranged, because the plates have never been found still attached to the skeleton. Some scientist believe the plates may have lay flat on the skin. However, most scientists believe the plates stood erect on the back, and were arranged in pairs or a zigzag pattern. Stegosaurus also had pairs of spikes on its tail which were about 3 feet (0.9 meters) long. There were several species of Stegosaurus, and the number of tail spikes varied between Stegosaurus species.

One unusual feature of Stegosaurus, which was first noted by Othniel C. Marsh, is that the animal had a large canal in the hip region of the spinal chord, that could have accommodated a structure about 20 times larger than the creature's brain. There has been a lot of speculation about this region, including the idea that dinosaurs like Stegosaurus had a second "brain" which controlled reflexes in the rear of the animal. A more recent idea about this, is that canal accommodated a glycogen body, a structure which is also found in some living birds.
From Dinosaur Jungle

Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus was a carnivore (meat-eater) that lived during the late Cretaceous period, about 95 to 70 million years ago.

Until recently, it was thought that Spinosaurus was 39 feet (11.9 meters) long, and probably weighed 7 tons. However, new research published in 2006, suggests that some Spinosaurus were as much as 51 feet (17 meters) long and could have weighed 9 tons: This would make Spinosaurus the largest known carnivore.

Spinosaurus had 6 feet (1.8 meters) spines on its back, forming a large fin (sometimes also called "sail"). The fin was probably used for temperature regulation: the animal could face it towards or away from the sun, depending on whether it needed to heat up or cool down. The creature's name comes from this feature: Spinosaurus means "spine lizard".

Spinosaurus also had surprisingly large arms, compared to related carnivores, so it is possible that it may have been able to walk on all fours.
From Dinosaur Jungle