At the beginning of the 21st Century monsters still roam the remote, and sometimes not so remote, corners of our planet. It is our job to search for them. The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is - we believe - the largest professional, scientific and full-time organisation in the world dedicated to cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals. Since 1992 the CFZ has carried out an unparalleled programme of research and investigation all over the world. Since 2009 we have been running the increasingly popular CFZ Blog Network, and although there has been an American branch of the CFZ for over ten years now, it is only now that it has a dedicated blog.

Saturday 28 May 2016

ARE STEGOSAURS STILL AROUND?

In 1971 J. Ellis observed a strange animal in the Congo.  It was a reptilian, 30' in length.  It had plates on its back.  Initially in the river, it left it and entered the forest.  Ellis reported that it seemed a familiar animal to the locals.

This animal sounds surprisingly like a member of the stegosaur tribe.  As far as we know, stegosaurs lived around 150 million years ago.  There is no indication in the fossil record that a population survived, but we must always bear the limitations of the fossil record in mind.  The stegosaur had a tiny brain.  The idea that they harbored a second brain in their tails has now been shown to be false.  They had plates on their backs and spikes on their tails.  It is possible that, at least sometimes, the plates were in two rows.  They could not be used as weapons due to their fragility.  It is thought, on the other hand, that their tail-spikes could land a serious blow.  They were herbivores and lived in North America, Africa and Asia (where they possibly originated).


stegosaur



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