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Kentrosaurus
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===Size and posture=== [[File:Kentrosaurus_Size_Comparison_by_PaleoGeek.svg|left|thumb|Size compared to a human]] ''Kentrosaurus aethiopicus'' was a relatively small stegosaur, reaching {{cvt|4|-|4.5|m|ft}} in length and {{cvt|700|-|1600|kg|lb}} in body mass.<ref name=Janensch1925/>{{#tag:ref|p. 223 in Paul (2010)<ref name=Paul2010/>|group="upper-alpha"}}<ref name=MallCAE/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Benson |first1=Roger B. J. |last2=Campione |first2=Nicolás E. |last3=Carrano |first3=Matthew T. |last4=Mannion |first4=Philip D. |last5=Sullivan |first5=Corwin |last6=Upchurch |first6=Paul |last7=Evans |first7=David C. |date=2014-05-06 |title=Rates of Dinosaur Body Mass Evolution Indicate 170 Million Years of Sustained Ecological Innovation on the Avian Stem Lineage |journal=PLOS Biology |language=en |volume=12 |issue=5 |pages=e1001853 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001853 |issn=1545-7885 |pmc=4011683 |pmid=24802911 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Some specimens suggest that relatively larger individuals could have existed.<ref name=Hennig1915/><ref name=Hennig1925/> These specimens are comparable to some ''[[Stegosaurus]]'' specimens in terms of the olecranon process in development.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Woodruff|first1=D.C.|last2=Trexler|first2=D.|last3=Maidment|first3=S.C.R.|year=2019|title=Two New Stegosaur Specimens from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Montana, USA|doi=10.4202/app.00585.2018|journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica|volume=64|issue=3|pages=461–480|s2cid=201310639 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The long tail of ''Kentrosaurus'' results in a position of the [[center of mass]] that is unusually far back for a [[quadrupedalism|quadrupedal]] animal. It rests just in front of the hip, a position usually seen in [[bipedalism|bipedal]] dinosaurs. However, the [[femur|femora]] are straight in ''Kentrosaurus'', as opposed to typical bipeds, indicating a straight and vertical limb position. Thus, the hindlimbs, though powered by massive thigh muscles attached to a long [[Ilium (bone)|ilium]], did not support the animal alone, and the very robust forelimbs took up 10 to 15% of the bodyweight.<ref name=MallROM/> The center of mass was not heavily modified by the [[osteoderm]]s (bony structures in skin) in ''Kentrosaurus'' or ''Stegosaurus'', which allowed the animals to stay mobile despite their armament. The hindlimbs’ thigh muscles were very powerful, allowing ''Kentrosaurus'' to reach a tripod stance on its hindlegs and tail.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mallison |first=H. |date=2014-03-07 |title=Osteoderm distribution has low impact on the centre of mass of stegosaurs |url=https://fr.copernicus.org/articles/17/33/2014/ |journal=Fossil Record |language=English |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=33–39 |doi=10.5194/fr-17-33-2014 |issn=2193-0066|doi-access=free |bibcode=2014FossR..17...33M }}</ref>
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