Stegosauridae is a family of thyreophoran dinosaurs within the suborder Stegosauria. The clade is defined as all species of dinosaurs more closely related to Stegosaurus than Huayangosaurus. The name ‘Stegosauridae’ is thus a stem-based name taken from the well-represented genus – Stegosaurus. Fossil evidence of stegosaurids, dating from the Middle Jurassic through the Early Cretaceous, have been recovered from North America, Eurasia and Africa.
Stegosauridae
Illustration comparing three stegosaurids by Danny Cicchetti, 2013.
Hypothetical sexual dimorphism of Hesperosaurus mjosi, including variation in plate shape and coloration
Thyreophora is a group of armored ornithischian dinosaurs that lived from the Early Jurassic until the end of the Cretaceous.
Image: Gastonia mount BYU 4
Image: Stegosaurus (Natural History Museum, London)