Apex Stegosaurus Fossil

Named for its large size, this fossil skeleton is relatively complete and shows signs that this dinosaur lived into old age.Stegosaurs were plant-eating, armored dinosaurs. Notice the spiky tail on the skeleton, shown raised high, ready to swing at potential attackers.Now on view on Floor 4, Apex anchors the entrance to the Museum’s famed fossil halls from the Gilder Center. The exhibit includes a new touchable cast of a Stegosaurus back plate. Alvaro Keding/© AMNH Alvaro Keding/© AMNH The rough surface of the bone was covered in keratin—the same material found in reptilian scales and human fingernails. Visitors can also explore the fossil in more detail at two interactive media stations. This fossil was discovered in 2022 just outside of Dinosaur, Colorado. It is extremely well-preserved, with more than 254 of approximately 320 bone elements. Missing pieces were filled in with 3D-printed and sculpted components.Scientists in the Museum’s Division of Paleontology are now studying a sample of one of Apex’s fossilized thigh bones to learn more about how stegosaurs grew. Show Transcript [MUSIC] [ROGER BENSON appears on screen.]ROGER BENSON (Macaulay Curator, Division of Paleontology): So I think there is a top five of dinosaurs in the popular imagination,[An illustrated silhouette of Stegosaurus appears on screen.]BENSON: and Stegosaurus is definitely among them.[The illustration zooms out and we see the silhouette of Stegosaurus is standing on a podium in 3rd place. A small teardrop appears below its head.]BENSON: It’s probably number three. [A silhouette of T. rex appears on the podium in 1st place, followed by a silhouette of Triceratops in 2nd place.] BENSON: Of course, T. rex is number one, Triceratops is number two–that’s just my personal favorite–followed closely by Stegosaurus.[We zoom back in on the silhouette of Stegosaurus. Its name appears in text beside it, followed by the full video title: “11 Questions About Stegosaurus.” The American Museum of Natural History logo appears.] [A slide replaces this illustration with text: “1. What kind of dinosaur is Stegosaurus?” BENSON reappears on screen speaking. Text appears: “Roger Benson, Macaulay Curator, Division of Paleontology.”]BENSON: So Stegosaurus is a stegosaur, and that sounds ridiculous, but stegosaurs in general take their name from Stegosaurus, [An illustration appears where a circle with the silhouette of Stegosaurus pops up in the center, and is surrounded by six other stegosaur silhouettes, which look slightly different. Text appears with a bracket that encompasses them: “Stegosaurs, 170-145 million years ago.”] BENSON: –and they include other dinosaurs that are generally around in the middle and late Jurassic. So up to about 145 million years ago. And we have fossils of stegosaurs– [The stegosaur silhouettes scatter over a map of the world, showing that they appear on most continents.] BENSON: –from North America, from Europe, Asia and Africa. [BENSON reappears on camera speaking.] BENSON: And it’s possible in fact that they were present on all continents during the Jurassic. [An illustration of a stegosaur with lots of spikes appears. Text appears: “Baiyinosaurus.”] BENSON: Other species of stegosaurs outside of Stegosaurus include– [Two illustrations of different stegosaurs with spikes on their backs and tails appear. Text appears below each: “Kentrosaurus” and “Gigantspinosaurus.”] BENSON: –animals like Kentrosaurus or Gigantspinosaurus. But even among stegosaurs, [An illustration of two Stegosaurus dinosaurs in a bog appears. The illustration zooms in on their back plates, and the spines of a Kentrosaurus appear next to the plates.] BENSON: –Stegosaurus is different than most other species because instead of having just spi