stegosaur

stegosaur
/steg"euh sawr'/, n.
a plant-eating dinosaur of the genus Stegosaurus, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, having a heavy, bony armor and a row of bony plates along its back, and growing to a length of 20 to 40 ft. (6-12 m).
[ < NL Stegosaurus (1877); see STEGO-, -SAUR]

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Any of the plated dinosaur species, including Stegosaurus, of the Late Jurassic Epoch (159–144 million years ago).

Stegosaurs were four-legged herbivores that reached a maximum length of about 30 ft (9 m). The skull and brain were very small. The forelimbs were much shorter than the hind limbs, the back was arched, and the feet were short and broad. Stegosaurs had double rows of large, triangular, bony plates along their backs and tail that may have been a temperature-regulating system. Pairs of long, pointed, bony spikes on the end of the tail were probably defensive weapons.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • stegosàur — m geol. zool. rod gmazova (Stegosaurus), dinosauri iz gornje jure; velegmaz …   Veliki rječnik hrvatskoga jezika

  • stegosaur — stegosàur m DEFINICIJA geol. zool. rod gmazova (Stegosaurus), dinosauri iz gornje jure; velegmaz ETIMOLOGIJA nlat. Stegosaurus ← grč. stégos: krov + saȗros: gušter …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • stegosaur — noun herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur with a row of bony plates along its back and a spiked tail probably used as a weapon • Syn: ↑stegosaurus, ↑Stegosaur stenops • Hypernyms: ↑armored dinosaur • Member Holonyms: ↑genus Stegosaurus …   Useful english dictionary

  • Stegosaur stenops — noun herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur with a row of bony plates along its back and a spiked tail probably used as a weapon • Syn: ↑stegosaur, ↑stegosaurus • Hypernyms: ↑armored dinosaur • Member Holonyms: ↑genus Stegosaurus …   Useful english dictionary

  • stegosaur — noun Etymology: New Latin Stegosauria, from Stegosaurus Date: 1897 any of a suborder (Stegosauria) of quadrupedal ornithischian herbivorous dinosaurs chiefly of the Jurassic with strongly developed dorsal plates and spikes …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • stegosaur — noun Any of several extinct herbivorous dinosaurs, of the suborder Stegosauria, having two rows of bony plates along the back …   Wiktionary

  • stegosaur — n. any of a number of herbivorous dinosaurs having a relatively small head and a row of bony plates along its back (from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • stegosaur — [ stɛgəsɔ:] (also stegosaurus ˌstɛgə sɔ:rəs) noun a quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaur with a double row of large bony plates along the back. Origin mod. L. Stegosaurus, from Gk stegē covering + sauros lizard …   English new terms dictionary

  • stegosaur — stego·saur …   English syllables

  • stegosaur — steg•o•saur [[t]ˈstɛg əˌsɔr[/t]] n. pal any plant eating dinosaur of the Jurassic and Cretaceous family Stegosauridae, having bony plates along the back • Etymology: 1900–05; < NL Stegosaurus (1877), genus name < Gk stégo(s) roof +saûros… …   From formal English to slang

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