Orange text that reads "Apex A Spectacular Stegosaurus"

Apex is the most complete Stegosaurus fossil ever found!

Drag and drop the bones into place to meet Apex

Where was Apex found?

A graphic of the united states with a marker on top of the state of Colorado, and an image of a mountain with multiple earth-toned stripes

Apex was found in sedimentary rocks near a town called Dinosaur in Colorado. The sedimentary rocks are named the Morrison Formation. This location is famous for dinosaur discoveries of the Late Jurassic Period, 150 million years ago. 

Today, the area is dry. But back when Apex was alive, rivers ran through it and forests grew there.

What did Apex look
like in real life?

Photo of a lizard with green, orange, and yellow skin walking on a branch

We don't know for sure! Scientists have found fossilized skin impressions that suggest Apex was scaly like crocodiles and lizards. 

blue and green peacock with it's colorful tail fanned out

They also think that Apex’s back plates could have been used to attract mates, like a peacock’s tail. So it’s possible that Apex had interesting colors!

Use your imagination and color it in! 

thumbnail of coloring sheet with dinosaurs partially colored in

Print and color!

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Could Apex have fought a Tyrannosaurus rex?

To find out, drag and drop these events to place them in order on the timeline. Order them from the oldest on the left to the most recent on the right.

1st
1st
2nd
2nd
3rd
3rd
4th
4th
5th
5th
6th
6th
Plants and fungi emerged Plants and fungi emerged with checkmark
Plants and fungi emerged Plants and fungi emerged with checkmark
First dinosaurs appeared First dinosaurs appeared with checkmark
First dinosaurs appeared First dinosaurs appeared with checkmark
Stegosaurus lived Stegosaurus lived with checkmark
Stegosaurus lived Stegosaurus lived with checkmark
T. rex lived T. rex lived with checkmark
T. rex lived T. rex lived with checkmark
Non-bird dinosaurs went extinct Non-bird dinosaurs went extinct
Non-bird dinosaurs went extinct Non-bird dinosaurs went extinct with checkmark
First humans evolved First humans evolved with checkmark
First humans evolved First humans evolved with checkmark

Stegosaurus like Apex lived 150 million years ago. That was 80 million years before T. rex existed. In fact, T. rex lived closer in time to humans than it did to Stegosaurus! So T. rex and Stegosaurus could never have gotten into a fight.

timeline from 1 billon years ago on the left, through the periods Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary until today on right

Stegosaurus like Apex lived 150 million years ago. That was 80 million years before T. rex existed. In fact, T. rex lived closer in time to humans than it did to Stegosaurus! So T. rex and Stegosaurus could never have gotten into a fight.

timeline from 1 billon years ago on top, through the periods Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary until today on the bottom

Can you ace this Apex quiz?

1

Did Apex have any predators?

Graphic of dinosaur head with a green checkmark on top of it

Yes

Graphic of dinosaur head with a red x on top of it

No

Nope. Try again!
Graphic of dinosaur head with a green checkmark on top of it
You got it!

ANSWER: Yes

Yes! But not many. Apex was a big adult Stegosaurus. It weighed 11,000 pounds (5,000 kilograms)! Its main predators were animals like Ceratosaurus (like the one on the right side of the coloring page).

Question 1 of 5
NEXT QUESTION
2

What did Apex eat?

an illustration of meat on a bone

Animals

flat illustration of a fern

Vegetables

blue crystalline minerals coming out of rock

Minerals

Nope. Try again!
flat illustration of a fern
You got it!

ANSWER: Vegetables

Apex was an herbivore. It ate all kinds of plants. It likely used its beak at the front of its jaw to forage on plants like ferns and moss that grew close to the ground. Then it sliced the leaves with the small, leaflike teeth at the back of its jaw. (Camptosaurus, like those in the background of the coloring page, were also beaked herbivores!)

Question 2 of 5
NEXT QUESTION
3

Apex's brain was about the size of a fruit. Which one?

illustration of a small red fruit with seeds and a leafy top

Strawberry

Illustration of a small lime green fruit

Lime

Flat illustration of an orange-colored fruit with a green leaf sticking out of it

Grapefruit

Nope. Try again!
Illustration of a small lime green fruit
You got it!

ANSWER: Lime

The brain of Apex was about the size of a lime. That’s extremely small compared to its massive 11,000-pound (5,000-kilogram) body. With a brain that tiny, Apex probably wasn’t very smart.

Question 3 of 5
NEXT QUESTION
4

What were Apex's back plates NOT used for?

Illustration of a blue and purple shield

Protect

Illustration of rotary fan blowing air

Cool

Illustration of two hands forming a heart

Mate

Nope. Try again!
Illustration of a blue and purple shield
You got it!

ANSWER: Protect

The bony back plates of Stegosaurus like Apex were covered in keratin, a material like your fingernails. Because the plates were loosely attached to the spine, they wouldn’t have been much use defending against predators. Instead, scientists think that the plates helped Stegosaurus regulate its body temperature (like an elephant’s ears) or attract mates (like a peacock’s tail).

Question 4 of 5
NEXT QUESTION
5

How many sharp spikes did Apex have on the end of its tail?

Graphic of the end of a tail with three spikes on it

Three

Graphic of the end of a tail with four spikes on it

Four

Illustration of the end of a tail with five spikes on it

Five

Nope. Try again!
Graphic of the end of a tail with four spikes on it
You got it!

ANSWER: Four

Some people called the tail spikes the thagomizer! But that’s not a scientific term. The four tail spikes were probably used for defense against other dinosaurs.

Question 5 of 5
Dino-score! Dino-mite work! Go, stego, go! Spike-tacular! You stego-soared straight to the apex! You got out of 5 right on the first guess.

Apex and its associated scientific research and educational activations are made possible by Kenneth C. Griffin and Griffin Catalyst.

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Credits

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Credits:

Apex fossil skeleton, Alvaro Keding & Daniel Kim/© AMNH; Morrison Formation, Kenneth Carpenter/CC BY-SA 4.0; veiled chameleon, © AMNH; peacock, Mathias Appel/CC; Apex and Ceratosaurus illustration, Sean Murtha/© AMNH; all other illustrations, Zack Faust/© AMNH.