 Some 2010 structural comparisons of Stegosaurus plates to Alligator osteoderms seem to support the conclusion that the potential for a thermoregulatory role in the plates of Stegosaurus definitely exists . This hypothesis has been seriously questioned , since its closest relatives , such as Kentrosaurus , had more low surface area spikes than plates , implying that cooling was not important enough to require specialized structural formations such as plates . Another possible function is that the plates may have helped the animal increase heat absorption from the sun . Since a cooling trend occurred towards the end of the Jurassic , a large ectothermic reptile might have used the increased surface area afforded by the plates to absorb radiation from the sun . 
