What came before. The authors also discussed the possible underlying genetic mechanisms for such changes.
Dialog: *Did the neck of Miragaia longicollum grow fast? *There is some evidence for increasing vertebral length in "Miragaia" and "Stegosaurus", compared to more basal species, but this is equivocal and could be due to post-mortem distortion; this mechanism was seen as a minor factor in neck elongation. *What major adaptations did this species have? *