Kentrosaurus Facts for Kids
KEN-troh-SORE-us · its name means “spiked lizard”
Stegosaurus's smaller, spikier cousin from Africa.
- 📏 16 ft5 m1 long
- ⚖️ weight: not yet checked
- 🕰️ the Jurassic
- 🍽️ plants
Kentrosaurus had plates and long spikes on its back. It was a cousin of Stegosaurus. It lived in Africa.
Kentrosaurus had small plates on its neck and front, then long, sharp spikes down its back and tail, and one more spike on each shoulder. It was smaller than its cousin Stegosaurus.
Kentrosaurus's fossils come from Tendaguru in Tanzania, one of the richest dinosaur sites in Africa. Scientists think it could swing its spiky tail fast to keep meat-eaters away. Its name means spiked lizard.
Every dinosaur number is scientists’ best guess from bones, so each one says where it came from.
How big was Kentrosaurus?
Kentrosaurus in numbers
| Length (nose to tail) | 16 ft5 m1scientists' estimate |
|---|---|
| Height at the hips | no checked number yet |
| Weight | no checked number yet |
| When it lived | no checked number yet |
| What it ate | low plants |
| Fossils found in | Tanzania, in eastern Africa |
| What kind | a stegosaur: a plated plant-eater |
Wow!
- It had a spike on each shoulder.
- Its name means spiked lizard.
- Its fossils come from Tanzania, in Africa.
🦴 Kentrosaurus’s bones
Books about Kentrosaurus, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about Kentrosaurus for free.
Where was the land back then?
The continents were in different places when Kentrosaurus lived, in the Jurassic. Open Planet Earth, pick Drifting continents, and slide back in time to see where the land was.
Its neighbours in time
Where these numbers come from
- Wikidata, from the Natural History Museum's Dino Directory, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, Kentrosaurus (Q131094), checked 30 October 2026.
To read more: the Natural History Museum’s Dino Directory (see also, not copied).