Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
494 / Mesozoic
Miragaia
Miragaia longicollum
At least seventeen cervical vertebrae produced an unusually long neck for a stegosaur.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 152–145 million years ago
- Final stage
- Late Jurassic
- Geographic range
- Coastal floodplain · Portugal
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Miragaia?
Miragaia (Miragaia longicollum) was an extinct organism known from About 152–145 million years ago, with a range in Coastal floodplain · Portugal.
Life and ecology
It browsed shrubs and low trees while plates and tail spikes served display and defense.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Miragaia disappear?
European ecosystems and stegosaur faunas changed at the end of the Jurassic, but this turnover does not demonstrate why the species disappeared.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Miragaia?
Skull pieces, a cervical series and trunk bones support the long neck; its relationship with Dacentrurus is debated.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS