Kentrosaurus

Phylogeny: Dinosauria > Ornithischia > Genasauria > Thyreophora > Thyreophoroidea > Eurypoda > Stegosauria > Stegosauridae

Overview: Kentrosaurus, not to be confused with the ceratopsid Centrosaurus, was a stegosaurian dinosaur that roamed what is now Tanzania in the Late Jurassic. The first recorded specimens of the creature were discovered by German paleontologists a few years before World War I. At that time, Tanzania was within the territory of German East Africa, a part of Germany’s larger colonial empire. Kentrosaurus was officially described as a genus in 1915, taking part of its name from the Greek root word for “prickle” or “sharp point”. This word is also used as the basis for the name of the aforementioned Centrosaurus, though with different spellings, both names are valid. In the case of Kentrosaurus, its generic name refers to its striking dermal armor. As with many other stegosaurs, this armor was probably used both defensively and for visual display purposes.

Within the Stegosauria, Kentrosaurus is usually referred to the family Stegosauridae, though most classify it as more basal that the famed Stegosaurus. It was also smaller than Stegosaurus, growing to maybe four or five meters long. All stegosaurs possessed enlarged dorsal osteoderms, though in many cases, they took on widely different forms between species. Those on Kentrosaurus took on the form of narrow plates over its neck and over the shoulders, but gradually grew into elongated spines towards its hips and down the tail. Two additional spines were once placed on its hips, but most modern reconstructions put them over its shoulders. Kentrosaurus was a primarily low-browsing herbivore. Its fossils are known from the famous Tendaguru Formation, so it would’ve lived alongside dinosaurs like Giraffatitan, Dicraeosaurus, Tornieria and Veterupristisaurus.