Stegosaur type specimen — Stegosaurus stenops

Geologic period: Late Jurassic — Kimmeridgian

Age: Approximately 152 million years old.

Feeding: Herbivorous.

Locomotion: Terrestrial quadruped.

Body plan: Nearly complete plated dinosaur skeleton preserving much of the anatomy used to define Stegosaurus stenops.

Evidence: The Smithsonian catalog records this specimen as the holotype and an exceptionally complete mounted skeleton.

Why it matters: A type specimen is not merely another fossil. It is the physical scientific standard tied to the formal definition of a species.

Discovery context: Collected at the Felch-Marsh Quarry in 1886 and designated as the holotype of Stegosaurus stenops.

Plain Language Identity: The holotype specimen of Stegosaurus stenops—the reference specimen on which the species name is based.

What You Are Looking At: An exceptionally complete original Stegosaurus skeleton displayed in association with its scientific preparation and research history.

Ecosystem: Late Jurassic Morrison Formation.

Formation: Morrison Formation — Brushy Basin Member.

Find Location: Fremont County, Colorado, United States.

Preservation: Original fossil skeleton.

Open Questions: Reconstruction of missing soft tissue and coloration remains interpretive even when the skeleton is unusually complete.

Source Urls: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list; https://www.si.edu/object/nmnhpaleobiology_3448873; https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/factsheets/david-h-koch-hall-fossils-deep-time

Enrichment Method: SAGE curated research pass; title + scientific name + source scene matched; historic taxonomy retained where relevant; evidence separated from inference

Scientific name: Stegosaurus stenops

Evidence / representation: comparative_taxon_visual

comparative_taxon_visual

Jurassic Giants: Size, Teeth, Armor and Survival.

Media license: CC BY 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0