Post by Admin on Jan 23, 2015 9:07:47 GMT
Stegosaurus
Pronunciation: STEG-oh-SAW-rus
Description: A quadrupedal herbivore
Order: Ornithiscia ("bird-hipped")
Name means: "Roofed Lizard"
Period: Late Jurassic, about 150 MYA
Location: North America, India, China, Europe, Africa
Height: 4.3 metres (14 feet)
Length: 8.5 metres (28 feet)
Weight: 2,722 kilograms (3 tons)
Instincts
+ Protect young.
+ Be wary of predators.
+ Fight or flight in a dangerous situation.
+ Be Social! Form herds, join herds, form bonds
+ Reproduce and breed! Get your genes to the next generation.
Verbal Communication
- Snorts - Annoyance or greeting depending on how they are made.
- Bawls - Extreme pain, danger,high aggression, surprise.
- Grunts - Caution and nervousness.
- Bellow - Mating call and challenges to rivals.
- Rumble - Content. Used in comforting infants.
Nonverbal Communication
+ Stomping: Anger, frustration, warning.
+ A raised tail, facing you and swinging back and forth: Warning. Being provoked will result in attack.
- Plates changing color: Attracting mates and warning off predators/rivals. A bright color could also mean being overheated. Male's plates will change colors to attract females and intimidate rivals.
- Angling plates to face you: Warning and intimidation. Being provoked will result in attack.
Sociability
Stegosaurus travel in large herds that usually intertwine with other herbivore populations for safety purposes. Most individuals will stay with the herd their whole lives, but some, (mostly males), will occasionally break off from their herd of birth. The herd is led by a female matriarch who sees to the needs of the herd (Like Elephants!), she is usually the oldest member in the herd. Male Stegosauruses are roamers and often move from one herd to the next. Most stick in roving bachelor bands and only interact with females during the breeding season.
Diet
Stegosaurus eat low lying vegetation due to the placement of their heads. Their beaks were used for ripping plant matter and its flat triangular teeth were used for grinding food. Stegosaurus, like horses, eat often to support their weight and metabolisms.
Breeding
Stegosaurus reaches sexual maturity at about 3 years of age. Males are usually the ones to try and initiate mating and courtship. While females act as judges. Stegosaurus do not mate for life.
Nesting
After the breeding season; the herd will migrate to the nesting grounds of their choice. The females will build mounds of mud and dirt inlaid with soft vegetation. She then lays about approximately 7 or more eggs with some being duds to fool egg stealing predators. After the eggs are laid, the mothers will cover her eggs with another few layers of soft vegetation for incubation. Incubation lasts around 3 weeks and then the eggs will hatch. After all infants are born, the herd will then leave the nesting grounds and mothers will take care of their infants for about two-three years. The infants become independent from their mothers after 3 years who are now free to mate again. Males serve no role in this process.
Extra: Stegosauridae Family