Rare Fossil Reveals Dinosaur with Impressive Armor of Spikes

Researchers have announced the discovery of a dinosaur considered one of the most unusual ever found. Covered in bony spikes and sporting a tail shaped like a club, the creature has drawn significant attention from the scientific community. The study was recently published in Nature.

The species, known as Spicomellus afer, lived around 165 million years ago and represents the earliest known member of the ankylosaurs — herbivorous dinosaurs famous for their heavily armored, tank-like bodies.

From the first clue to a clearer picture

Until recently, knowledge about Spicomellus was limited to a single rib fragment discovered in Morocco in 2019. With the finding of new fossils, scientists have been able to reconstruct its appearance more accurately and better understand its unique features.

According to Professor Richard Butler of the University of Birmingham, one of the project leaders, the fossils are a highly significant discovery. He describes Spicomellus as “one of the strangest dinosaurs ever identified.”

Spikes that impress

Paleontologist Susannah Maidment from the Natural History Museum in London explained that the dinosaur’s spiny armor likely evolved as a defense mechanism against predators but may also have played a role in courtship displays and rivalry.

The animal had an extraordinary variety of plates and spikes, including structures nearly one meter long on its neck, large upward-pointing spikes over its hips, and blade-shaped spikes running along its shoulders.

“It’s something unparalleled in the fossil record — we’ve never seen anything like this in any other animal,” Maidment concluded.

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