Jurassic period Dinosaur Bone, Stegosaurus
A complete dinosaur bone from the foot of a Stegosaurus from the Late Jurassic period approximately 155 to 145 million years ago. Different anatomical regions of the bone are clearly visible including capillary structure. The bone was easily identified by a walk through the Smithsonian Museum’s Dinosaur section. Weight, 1.0 kilograms.
A Stegosaurus toe bone, part of its robust foot structure, supported the massive herbivore’s weight—up to 7 tons—while it lumbered across Jurassic floodplains 150 million years ago. These phalanges, typically stout and cylindrical, reveal wear patterns suggesting a slow, plodding gait, with toes splayed to distribute weight on soft, marshy ground. Fossils of Stegosaurus toe bones, often found in Wyoming’s Morrison Formation, show no signs of claws, unlike predatory dinosaurs, indicating their role was purely for stability, not combat. Interestingly, some paleontologists speculate minor fractures in these bones, seen in certain specimens, could hint at injuries from navigating rocky terrain or defending against predators like Allosaurus with their spiked tails.
