Miragaia, named for the area in which it was found (Miragaia,
Portugal), is a genus of stegosaurid dinosaur from the Late
Jurassic Period (approximately 150 million years ago). A fairly
complete half skeleton and partial skull were discovered. It was
described by OctÃ¡vio Mateus and his colleagues in 2009. The
type species is M. longicollum. Fragments from a juvenile
individual were also found in the same bone bed as the type
specimen. Miragaia is notable for its long neck, which included
at least 17 vertebrae. Miragaia had more neck vertebrae than
most sauropods, dinosaurs known for their long necks. The
traditional view of stegosaurid dinosaurs are low browsers with
short necks. Only three sauropod dinosaurs (Euhelopus,
Mamenchisaurus, and Omeisaurus) have as many neck vertebrae as
Miragaia. Most sauropods only possess between 12 and 15 neck
vertebra. The purpose of the longer neck has been debated.
Scientists either believe it was to allow this animal to browse
at higher levels that other herbivores were n