A strange fossil pulled from Morocco’s Middle Atlas Mountains has turned out to be the earliest known ankylosaur, and by far one of the weirdest. The dinosaur, Spicomellus afer, had spikes growing through its ribs and an armored neck lined with meter-long blades that jutted out like spears.
At first, researchers weren’t convinced it was real. “The first thing we did was a CT scan to check that it wasn’t fake and that somebody hadn’t stuck spines onto the top of the ring,” Susannah Maidment, a paleontologist at London’s Natural History Museum, told Live Science.
But it passed the test. It came from the Middle Jurassic period and revealed armor fused directly into the skeleton, a feature scientists hadn’t seen before.
Dinosaur With Giant Neck Spikes Found in Morocco
The ankylosaurs we know best lived during the Cretaceous and carried armor designed to hold off predators, not attract attention. But Spicomellus may have evolved in the opposite direction. Maidment and her team believe the spikes were likely sexually selected.
That is, they evolved not to fight off predators, but to attract mates. Like antlers or plumage, the spikes may have signaled strength and health to potential partners.
That doesn’t mean they weren’t functional. The tail structure shows early signs of what would later become the classic ankylosaur club, and some of the neck spikes were reinforced by bone. One spike, found detached from the rest, measured 17 inches and was likely mounted at the tail end.
This mix of form and function makes Spicomellus a kind of evolutionary outlier. Its armor is extreme, even by ankylosaur standards, but it also shows how certain traits may have developed earlier than previously believed. The fusion of spike and skeleton is especially rare, offering a glimpse into a period of dinosaur history about which we know little.
Spicomellus brought Africa into the ankylosaur conversation and reminded researchers that dramatic traits often carry complex and layered meanings. What appears to be armor might also serve as a mating strategy.
What appears to be defense might have actually started as a display—evolution, as always, leaves room for interpretation.
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