Whilst on a short visit to Berlin, we took the opportunity to admire and photograph the bas-relief Stegosaurus on display at the Berlin Aquarium building.  The building was built between 1911 and 1913.  At the time, the various murals and sculptures depicting prehistoric animals were cutting edge.  However, after more than a hundred years our views of these long extinct creatures have changed considerably.

Bas-relief Stegosaurus at the Berlin Aquarium.

The Stegosaurus motif from the Berlin Aquarium. The aquarium building was built between 1911 and 1913. The dinosaur motifs such as this Stegosaurus relief reflect the scientific knowledge at the time. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The crouching gait and the placement of the armour and spikes are not accurate.  Furthermore, palaeontologists now know that the legs were held under the body.  When the building was re-opened in 1983 it was decided to retain these bas-relief murals. Indeed, they provide an important opportunity to reflect on how our knowledge about the Dinosauria has changed.

The Bas-relief Stegosaurus provides a sense of nostalgia.

Mike from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“When the Berlin Aquarium first opened, over a hundred years ago, it was a marvel.  It gave the German people the opportunity to learn more about the natural world.  As dinosaurs such as Stegosaurus were already well known to the public, I suppose depicting these animals on the outside of the building added to the mystic as to what animals actually might be inside.  After all, when it opened it offered visitors the opportunity to walk through a hall in which crocodiles roamed.”

For more accurate models of Stegosaurus and other prehistoric animals: Accurate Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.