"Strangest" Dinosaur Covered in Spikes Discovered

A dinosaur described as one of the "strangest" ever found possessed an elaborate arsenal of long bony spikes and a club-like tail, according to findings published in the journal Nature.

Spicomellus, which lived on Earth 165 million years ago, is the oldest ankylosaur in the world. Ankylosaurs are a group of herbivorous dinosaurs whose bodies resemble tanks.

Paleontologists' image of Spicomellus was based on a single rib bone found in Morocco in 2019. Recently discovered remains have helped scientists form a clearer picture of the unusual dinosaur.

Fossils showed that it had bony spikes fused to all its ribs - something never seen before in any other vertebrate species, living or extinct, according to research.

Richard Butler, a professor at the University of Birmingham, described the fossils as an "incredibly important discovery." Professor Susannah Maidment of the Natural History Museum in London stated that the armor originally evolved for defensive purposes but was likely later used to attract mates and display to rivals.

Source: CNA