The Spicomellus is “totally unlike anything else that we have ever seen,” said a co-lead of a study on the dinosaur, which lived some 165 million years ago.
You think you’ve got dinosaurs figured out — and then along comes one with 3-foot neck spikes, a tail weapon, and elaborate armor plating.
That creature is Spicomellus, a Jurassic-era ankylosaur that roamed what is now Morocco about 165 million years ago. Scientists have known about its existence for a while, but only recently have they revealed its full, bizarre form — and it’s unlike anything else in the dinosaur record.
“This dinosaur is totally unlike anything we’ve ever seen before,” paleontologist Susannah Maidment told NBC News. She co-led the international team that examined the fossils, unearthed in the Atlas Mountains near Boulemane. Their findings were published in Nature.
Spicomellus is now recognized as the oldest ankylosaur ever discovered. These were short-limbed, tank-like herbivores known for their heavy armor. Until now, however, their evolutionary history was murky due to scarce fossils.
Earlier evidence came only from a rib fragment described in 2021. The new fossils paint a far stranger picture: the dinosaur’s back bristled with short spikes, it bore two massive protrusions above its hips, and its fused tail vertebrae hint at a powerful club-like weapon.
Researchers believe the ornate armor not only defended Spicomellus against predators but may also have played a role in attracting mates.
“We just couldn’t believe how strange it was — unlike any dinosaur or any other animal, alive or extinct,” said Richard Butler, co-lead of the study and paleontologist at the University of Birmingham. Describing the chance to examine the fossils, he called it “spine-tingling.”
Other experts are equally astonished. Steve Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh not involved with the research, called Spicomellus “one of the weirdest, wackiest dinosaurs” ever documented.
“It has spikes sprouting all over its body, like some reptilian porcupine,” Brusatte said. “If you were a predator in the Jurassic, you’d think twice before going near it.”
The discovery also underscores how much remains to be uncovered in Africa. “Morocco and other parts of the continent are vastly underexplored compared to places like North America,” Maidment said, emphasizing that the region is a treasure trove for paleontologists.
The Spicomellus project, which began in 2018, faced delays from the Covid-19 pandemic, including a canceled trip when the U.K. entered lockdown. Work resumed in 2022, and the results have already reshaped scientific understanding of early ankylosaurs.
“This study is helping push Moroccan science forward,” said Driss Ouarhache, who led the Moroccan team. “We’ve never seen dinosaurs like this before — and there’s still so much more waiting to be found.”