Scientists have discovered that the world's oldest armored dinosaur sported the most extreme defensive features ever found in any vertebrate, living or extinct. The 165-million-year-old Spicomellus afer from Morocco challenges everything researchers thought they knew about how prehistoric tank-like creatures evolved their protective gear.
The remarkable new findings, published in the prestigious journal Nature, reveal that this ancient beast bristled with meter-long spikes jutting from its neck like a prehistoric punk rocker. Professor Susannah Maidment from London's Natural History Museum described the discovery as "jaw-droppingly weird" when her team first uncovered the extraordinary fossils in Morocco's Atlas Mountains.
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Revolutionary Discovery Challenges Evolution Timeline
Spicomellus afer represents the earliest known member of the ankylosaur family, predating the famous Ankylosaurus by nearly 100 million years. What makes this discovery revolutionary is that scientists expected the earliest armored dinosaurs to have simple defensive plates. Instead, they found an animal covered in elaborate spikes, plates, and protective gear that surpasses even later species in complexity.
The dinosaur's most striking feature was a bony collar around its neck bearing spikes measuring up to 87 centimeters long - and these may have been even longer when covered with keratin sheaths similar to cow horns. BBC News reported that Professor Richard Butler from the University of Birmingham called it the "punk rocker" of its time, referencing the spiky aesthetic of the 1970s music subculture.
After the species was named in 2021, more fossils from Spicomellus were uncovered in a dig in 2023. (© The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London)
Unlike any other vertebrate ever discovered, Spicomellus had spikes directly fused to its rib bones - six spikes per rib in some cases. This unprecedented adaptation raises questions about how the animal could move effectively, as these spikes would have interfered with normal muscle attachment points.
With spikes embedded in many of its bones, it’s difficult to imagine how Spicomellus might have moved. (© The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London)
From Display to Defense: Armor Evolution Reversed
The discovery suggests that ankylosaur evolution followed an unexpected path. Rather than gradually developing more complex armor over time, these dinosaurs may have started with elaborate display structures that later simplified into more practical defensive gear. ScienceAlert noted that the energetic cost of maintaining such extreme ornamentation would have been enormous.
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The discovery of new Spicomellus fossils has allowed palaeontologists to reconstruct what the dinosaur might have looked like. (© Matthew Dempsey/ Maidment et al.)
Spicomellus possessed features that weren't thought to exist until much later in ankylosaur evolution, including handle vertebrae indicating a tail weapon and an ornate sacral shield protecting its hips. These adaptations challenge the conventional timeline of how these armored giants developed their defensive capabilities.
The researchers believe the elaborate spikes served primarily for sexual display rather than defense, similar to peacock tails or deer antlers in modern animals. Professor Maidment explained that such impractical armor was likely "used for some kind of display" rather than protection from predators.
African Fossil Record Reveals Hidden Diversity
This discovery marks Africa's first and only known ankylosaur, highlighting the continent's underexplored palaeontological potential. The fossils were initially recovered by a local farmer near Boulemane, Morocco, who saved them from floodwaters before alerting scientists to their significance.
The Natural History Museum expedition team worked under permits from Morocco's Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development to excavate additional specimens from the Middle Jurassic El Mers III Formation. Professor Driss Ouarhache from Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah emphasized that "Morocco has a strong background in classical geology, but discoveries like this show the importance of palaeontology as well."
The research reveals that by 165 million years ago, armored dinosaurs had already achieved remarkable diversity in their defensive strategies, suggesting rapid evolutionary innovation during the Middle Jurassic period.
Top image: Artistic reconstruction of Spicomellus afer displaying its extraordinary meter-long neck spikes and armored body in the Middle Jurassic landscape of Morocco. Source: © Matthew Dempsey/Natural History Museum
By Gary Manners
References
Butler, R.J., Maidment, S.C.R., et al. 2025. Extreme armour in the world's oldest ankylosaur. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09453-6
Ghosh, P. 2025. 'Punk rock' dinosaur with metre-long spikes discovered. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y2emnnn4po
Maidment, S.C.R. 2025. "Bizarre" armoured dinosaur Spicomellus afer rewrites ankylosaur evolution. Available at: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2025/august/bizarre-armoured-dinosaur-spicomellus-afer-rewrites-ankylosaur-evolution.html
