Stegosaurus is a genus of herbivorous, four-legged, armored dinosaur from the later Jurassice, characterized by the distinctive kite-shaped upright plates along their backs and spikes on their tails. Fossils of the genus have been found in the western United States and in Portugal, in strata, dating to between 155 and 145 million years ago. They were large, heavily built, herbivorous quadrupeds with rounded backs, short fore limbs, long hind limbs, and tails held high in the air. Given its size, Stegosaurus was equipped with an unusually small brain, comparable to that of a modern golden retriever—which gave it an extremely low "encephalization quotient," or EQ. How could a 4-ton dinosaur possibly survive and thrive with so little gray matter? Well, as a general rule, any given animal only has to be slightly smarter than the food it eats (in Stegosaurus' case, primitive ferns and cycads) and just alert enough to avoid predators—and by those standards, Stegosaurus was brainy enough to prosper in the wilds of late Jurassic North America.
Way back in 1982, a famous "Far Side" cartoon depicted a group of cavemen clustered around a picture of a Stegosaurus tail; one of them points to the sharp spikes and says, "Now this end is called the thagomizer ... after the late Thag Simmons." The word "thagomizer," coined by "Far Side" creator Gary Larson, has been used by paleontologists ever since.
The name Stegosaurus means "roofed lizard", reflecting the belief of 19th-century paleontologists that this dinosaur's plates lay flat along its back, like a form of armor. Various reconstructions have been offered up since then, the most convincing of which has the plates alternating in parallel rows, pointy ends up, from this dinosaur's neck all the way down to its butt. Today, it is generally agreed that their spiked tails were most likely used for defense against predators, while their plates may have been used primarily for display, and secondarily for thermoregulatory functions. As to why these structures evolved in the first place, that's still a mystery. Like many plant-eating dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era, Stegosaurus intentionally swallowed small rocks (known as gastroliths) that helped mash up the tough vegetable matter in its enormous stomach; this quadruped would have had to eat hundreds of pounds of ferns and cycads every day to maintain its presumably cold-blooded metabolism. Although it was undoubtedly lacking in other respects, Stegosaurus did possess one relatively advanced anatomical feature: Extrapolating from the shape and arrangement of its teeth, experts believe this plant eater may have possessed primitive cheeks. Why were cheeks so important? Well, they gave Stegosaurus the ability to thoroughly chew and predigest its food before swallowing it and also allowed this dinosaur to pack away more vegetable matter than its non-cheeked competition.
Stegosaurus is the state dinosaur of Colorado. Although it's by far the most famous, Stegosaurus wasn't the only spiked, plated dinosaur of the late Jurassic period. The remains of these odd-looking reptiles have been discovered across the expanse of Europe and Asia, with the largest concentrations further east—hence the odd-sounding stegosaur genera Chialingosaurus, Chungkingosaurus, and Tuojiangosaurus. All in all, there are less than two dozen identified stegosaurs, making this one of the rarest types of dinosaur. The stegosaurs of the late Jurassic period were cousins of the ankylosaurs (armored dinosaurs), which prospered tens of millions of years later, during the middle to late Cretaceous period.
We make no representations as to the accuracy of the figures attached to the Geocache. Obviously dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years and the descriptions included are based upon research of paleontologists and other scientists much more learned than El Fartero & La Vaca Verde.
"Walking with Dinosaurs" is a Reptilia-themed power trail consisting of 25 traditonal microcaches hosting their featured dinosaur, and 2 large, well-stocked ammocans you'll have to answer some questions to find. It extends for a total of 4 miles north from Hubbel Corners toward Grand Gorge on the lovely, but lesser known Southern portion of the Stamford Rail Trail. The trail is mostly flat, wide and level, and other than a few sections that can get watery, it is dog, stroller and bike friendly. Most of the caches are winter-friendly, but a few are not, so check the attributes if there's deep snow. We recommend doing it over two days for a more enjoyable, leisurly experience, but more ambitious cachers (or First-to-Find maniacs!) can start early and do it in one. We have tried to provide good coordinates and helpful hints to give you a rewarding caching experience.
Parking is available at the South end of the trail at N42 18.165 W74 33.256, or at the North end at N42 21.238 W74 31.250