WHO WILL WIN?
Stegosaurus
WHAP-SPIKE
Meerkat
CHK-CHK-ALARM
THE SETUP

Stegosaurus vs Meerkat

Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus
Meerkat
Meerkat

Pretend they meet in grassland. Dinosaurs lived long ago. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Stegosaurus and Meerkat did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

This is pretend and based on facts. Real animals usually hide or leave.

Read the facts. Make your card. The page waits to pick.

Corner A

Stegosaurus

Stegosaurus stenops · Roof-plates up top, a tagged tail in back.

Stegosaurus
Home
Late Jurassic fern prairies of western North America · Lived in North America long ago
Food
Plants
Group
Lives in a herd
Size
Stegosaurus is huge.

Browser.

A tiny brain, a low head, and a tail that did not wait for a committee.

Slow salad tank.

  • Stegosaurus is huge and slow.
  • Low plants.
  • Morrison Formation country — Late Jurassic, about 150 million years ago.

Family: Other plated dinosaurs like Kentrosaurus.

Corner B

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta · The smallest fighter with the biggest sentry energy.

Meerkat
Home
African desert and scrub · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives in a big group
Size
Meerkat is tiny.

Bug and scorpion specialist.

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Brave in a mob, tiny in a 1-v-1.

  • Meerkat is tiny and not very fast.
  • Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.
  • They live in underground burrow cities with many exits.

Family: Mongooses.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

Stand them next to a grown-up. Who is bigger and heavier?

1.70 m

Grown-up

2.8 m

Stegosaurus to scale

Stegosaurus

0.30 m

Meerkat to scale

Meerkat

Height to scale. A grown-up is 1.7 m.

Stegosaurus3,500 kg

About the weight of a pickup truck, with plates that could top a grown-up's head.

Meerkat0.8 kg

About as heavy as a loaf of bread that learned karate.

Stegosaurus

2.8 m · 3,500 kg

Stegosaurus is huge. 3,500 kg.

Meerkat

0.30 m · 0.8 kg

Meerkat is tiny. 0.8 kg.

Kilograms are honest. A small animal can still have a strong tool.

Who would you pick for size?

TOOLKIT!

TOOLS

Teeth, claws, horns, venom, kick — what tools do they have?

  • Weapon: Thagomizer tail spikes
  • Armor: Kite-plate rooftop
  • Senses: A tiny brain, a low head, and a tail that did not wait for a committee.

Stegosaurus · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Needle claws
  • Armor: Absolutely none
  • Senses: Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Meerkat · labeled field diagram

Stegosaurus200 psi bite
Meerkat50 psi bite

Stegosaurus

Thagomizer tail spikes

Tool: thagomizer tail spikes. Bite: 200 psi.

Meerkat

Needle claws

Tool: needle claws. Bite: 50 psi.

A bite number is only one tool. Coils and kicks count too.

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Stegosaurus
12 km/h
Meerkat
32 km/h
Stegosaurus12 km/h
Meerkat32 km/h

Stegosaurus

12 km/h

Stegosaurus can go 12 km/h. That is slow.

Meerkat

32 km/h

Meerkat can go 32 km/h. That is not very fast.

A fast animal can miss. A slow one only has to connect.

Who takes the speed card?

HOME MAP!

HOME

They meet in grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
StegosaurusMeerkatBoth

Meeting biome: grassland. Colored land is fossil range for dinosaurs and living range for zoo animals.

Stegosaurus

This is home · Lived in North America long ago

Stegosaurus lives in places like grassland.

Meerkat

This is home · Lives in Africa

Meerkat lives in places like grassland.

No. Stegosaurus and Meerkat did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Stegosaurus
Plants · Browser.
Meerkat
Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Stegosaurus

Plants · Browser.

Low plants.

Meerkat

Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.

A plant eater is not 'safe.' Hippos and elephants still end arguments.

Whose hunting or defending helps more?

MOOD!

MOOD

Alone vs team. This rumble is one vs one.

Stegosaurus
Lives in a herd
Meerkat
Lives in a big group
Stegosaurus7 grit /10
Meerkat10 grit /10

Stegosaurus

Lives in a herd

Slow salad tank. Grit: 7/10.

Meerkat

Lives in a big group

Brave in a mob, tiny in a 1-v-1. Grit: 10/10.

Pack and pride animals lose their backup in a 1-v-1.

Who is better for a solo meeting?

PING!

BRAINS

Who notices first and thinks next?

Stegosaurus
2/10
Meerkat
7/10
Stegosaurus2 brains /10
Meerkat7 brains /10

Stegosaurus

2/10

A tiny brain, a low head, and a tail that did not wait for a committee.

Meerkat

7/10

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

In the wild, brains often mean leave before it starts.

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus stenops
Meerkat
Suricata suricatta

Stegosaurus

Stegosaurus stenops

Other plated dinosaurs like Kentrosaurus.

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

Mongooses.

Cousins are clues, not a score.

Not a fight point. Who has the wilder family story?

WILD CARD!

SPECIAL

What special move did they evolve?

Stegosaurus
Plate Parade Whip
Meerkat
Sentry Siren

Stegosaurus

Plate Parade Whip

The brain was famously small.

Meerkat

Sentry Siren

One meerkat stands watch while the rest forage.

A secret move here is a real wild tool, not a video-game combo.

Whose special move would change the meeting?

YOUR SCORECARD

Your scorecard

Tap who has each fact. Then tap who you think wins.

  • SIZE & WEIGHT

  • TOOLS

  • SPEED

  • HOME

  • FOOD

  • MOOD

  • BRAINS

  • SPECIAL

Your card: Stegosaurus 0 · Meerkat 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

Keep going for the pretend meeting, then the science pick.

THWACK!

THEY MEET

Meerkat runs first. Stegosaurus does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Stegosaurus is heavier. Meerkat uses needle claws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Stegosaurus tries the Plate Parade Whip. Meerkat tries the Sentry Siren. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Stegosaurus!

A STOMP

You skipped a final pick. The facts still stamp a champ.

On grassland, Stegosaurus wins. Stegosaurus is a lot heavier. Meerkat would still win some meetings at home.

In the wild, most animals skip a fight. We still judge who the bodies and the place would favor.

Science card: Stegosaurus 4 · Meerkat 3 · ties 1.

Your card: Stegosaurus 0 · Meerkat 0.

The last page follows the whole animal — body plus home — not one bar chart.

Send this fight

A friend can read the same facts.

Also starring · Meerkat

Family meeting. Someone is always on lookout.

Boksi · Wilhelma Zoo · Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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