Miragaia

Say it like this: “MEE-ruh-GAH-yuh”

Miragaia longicollum

Miragaia ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in Portugal.

Quiz me on Miragaia

When: Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
Named in: 2009 · Mateus, O.; Maidment, S. C. R.; Christiansen, N. A.
Hip height: 2 m · 7 ft
Length: 6.5 m · 21 ft
Weight: 1.8 tonnes
Found in: Portugal · Lourinhã
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: plated dinosaur · Stegosaur
Family branch: Dacentrurinae

The story in short

Miragaia was formally named in 2009 by O. Mateus and colleagues. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian), roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from Portugal, including the Lourinhã Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Miragaia at a length near 6.5 m, hips about 2 m high, and a body mass around 1.8 tonnes.

On the family tree it sits in Dacentrurinae, among the plated dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Adratiklit

Adratiklit boulahfa

Middle Jurassic (Bathonian · Callovian) · roughly 168.2 to 161.5 million years ago

Dacentrurus

Dacentrurus armatus

Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago

Thyreosaurus

Thyreosaurus atlasicus

Middle Jurassic (Bathonian · Callovian) · roughly 168.2 to 161.5 million years ago