Miragaia

Filed under Jurassic dinosaurs · Types of Dinosaurs editorial team

Order: Ornithischia · Suborder: Thyreophora · Infraorder: Stegosauria · Family: Stegosauridae (family not firmly confirmed)

Miragaia was a stegosaurian dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period, discovered in Portugal. It belongs to the order Ornithischia, the suborder Thyreophora, and the family Stegosauridae. Its name, which translates as "wonderful Earth goddess," reflects the region in Portugal where its remains were found.

Reaching a length of around 20 feet (6 meters), Miragaia is most notable for its unusually long neck. While stegosaurs are typically pictured with fairly short necks, Miragaia possessed at least seventeen neck vertebrae — more than many long-necked sauropods of comparable build. This remarkable adaptation may have allowed the animal to reach a wider range of vegetation, giving it a feeding advantage over other members of its group.

Like its stegosaurid relatives, Miragaia bore a double row of plates and spines running along its back and tail, a defining characteristic of the family. As an herbivore, it would have relied on plant material for sustenance. Its discovery contributes to Portugal's recognized record of Jurassic dinosaur fossils, offering important insight into the diversity of stegosaurs that once inhabited that part of the world.

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Reference background: Natural History Museum, London — Dinosaurs; Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Dinosaurs; American Museum of Natural History — Dinosaurs & Fossils. Figures are typical published ranges; taxonomy follows the source era and modern consensus is noted where it differs. See our sources & fact-check policy.

Related dinosaurs

Other dinosaurs from the Stegosauridae family.