A fossil of an ankylosaur dinosaur, called Spicomellus Afer, near Bounge, in central Morocco. To find out a research group led by Richard Butler, of the University of Birmingham. Described on The Guardian and dating back to about 165 million years ago, it is the oldest known specimen of this group of armored dinosaurs, offering a revolutionary gaze on the evolution of armor and armination in herbivorous dinosaurs.
Spicomellus had a robust body, about 4 meters long and about two tons heavy, completely covered by thorns, like a “punk”, including imposing protuberances that formed a armored collar as long as a golf club. The bones of the missing tail show melting vertebrae, suggesting the presence of a club, an offensive weapon presumably used against predators or rivals. This discovery anticipates about 30 million years the evolution of tail arms in the ankylosaurs, raising new questions about the functions of the armor, which was probably not only defensive but also a signal of dominance or sexual attraction.
Butler underlined the complexity in reconstructing the body by fossilized fragments and highlighted the importance of this discovery that challenges the pre -existing theories on the evolution of ankylosaurs. A serious problem concerns fossiliferous poaching: parts of the specimen were illegally sold on online markets, often with prices up to 10,000 pounds, subtracting precious finds from science and complicating research.