Dinosaurs are often thought of as familiar creatures—towering sauropods, terrifying tyrannosaurs, and the armored ankylosaurs with their formidable tail clubs. Yet every so often, the fossil record throws us something so strange, so unprecedented, that it forces scientists to rethink long-held assumptions.
That is exactly what happened with Spicomellus afer, a dinosaur so unusual that it has been called the world’s strangest armored dinosaur. Living more than 165 million years ago, during the Middle Jurassic, this creature walked the Earth in what is now Boulemane, Morocco. It was the oldest ankylosaur ever discovered, and the first ankylosaur to be found in Africa. But its age is not the only thing that makes it remarkable.
Recent research published in Nature reveals that Spicomellus had armor unlike any animal before or since. Picture a dinosaur wearing a collar of meter-long spikes that projected sideways from its neck, combined with ribs fused to bony spikes sticking out of its torso. This was not just armor; it was a display of extremes.
First Clues From a Single Rib
The story of Spicomellus began modestly. In 2021, scientists described the species based only on a single rib bone. Even from that small fragment, it was clear something was unusual—the rib was fused to a spike, a feature unseen in any other vertebrate. Paleontologists suspected they had found something extraordinary, but with so little to go on, the full picture remained a mystery.
Now, new fossil discoveries have confirmed just how bizarre Spicomellus truly was. Its body was bristling with spikes and plates, forming one of the most elaborate suits of armor in the entire dinosaur lineage. The discovery has left experts astonished, rewriting what we thought we knew about how armored dinosaurs evolved.
Armor Like No Other
Most ankylosaurs—the famous “living tanks” of the dinosaur world—developed broad, flat armor plates to protect them against predators. Some evolved heavy tail clubs, perfected during the Cretaceous period, tens of millions of years after Spicomellus lived.
But Spicomellus did something entirely different. Along its neck was a bony collar, from which massive spikes—up to 87 centimeters long—jutted outward like natural lances. Its ribs carried spikes fused directly into the bone, extending outward in permanent, immovable armor. These adaptations are so unusual that paleontologists had never seen anything remotely similar in any animal, extinct or alive.
Professor Susannah Maidment of the Natural History Museum, who co-led the research team, summed it up: “We’ve never seen anything like this in any animal before.”
A Dinosaur That Changed the Rules
What makes Spicomellus especially puzzling is its place in time. As the earliest ankylosaur known, one might expect its armor to be relatively simple, with later species evolving more elaborate defenses. Instead, Spicomellus seems to have gone to extremes right from the start.
Later ankylosaurs simplified their armor, focusing on functional defenses rather than flamboyant displays. This raises a tantalizing possibility: perhaps Spicomellus’ armor was not just about protection. The sheer size and visibility of its spikes suggest they may have been used for display and communication—to attract mates, intimidate rivals, or signal strength.
Professor Richard Butler of the University of Birmingham described the first time he saw the fossils: “Seeing and studying the Spicomellus fossils for the first time was spine-tingling. We just couldn’t believe how weird it was.”
The Mystery of the Tail
While much of Spicomellus’ body armor has now been described, its tail remains only partly known. The preserved bones suggest something remarkable: the vertebrae were fused in a way seen only in later ankylosaurs that had heavy tail clubs.
If confirmed, this would mean Spicomellus was experimenting with tail weaponry more than 30 million years before any other ankylosaur. It hints that many of the adaptations we associate with these dinosaurs—armor, spikes, and tail clubs—were already appearing at the dawn of their evolutionary story.
Why Didn’t Later Ankylosaurs Inherit the Spikes?
One of the biggest puzzles about Spicomellus is why later ankylosaurs abandoned its extravagant armor. If spikes offered protection, why did they not persist?
The answer may lie in changing ecosystems. As the Jurassic gave way to the Cretaceous, larger predators evolved—massive theropods, crocodiles, and mammalian carnivores. Against such threats, armor needed to be strong, compact, and practical. Huge spikes projecting from ribs or neck collars may have been too cumbersome, even dangerous, in close combat. Instead, evolution favored dense, low-profile armor and the iconic tail clubs of later ankylosaurs.
In this sense, Spicomellus might represent an evolutionary experiment—a dazzling but ultimately impractical approach to survival.
A Window Into Ancient Africa
The discovery of Spicomellus is not just about one dinosaur. It also highlights the importance of Africa in the story of dinosaur evolution. For decades, much of what we knew about ankylosaurs came from Europe, Asia, and North America. The fact that the earliest ankylosaur appeared in Africa suggests that the continent played a crucial role in their origin and diversification.
Professor Driss Ouarhache, who co-led the Moroccan team, emphasized this point: “We’ve never seen dinosaurs like this before, and there’s still a lot more this region has to offer.” The fossils, prepared and stored in Fez, Morocco, are now part of a growing body of evidence that Africa holds many more secrets about the age of dinosaurs.
More Than Armor: What Spicomellus Tells Us About Evolution
Beyond its spiky armor, Spicomellus is a reminder of how evolution often works through experimentation. Nature does not plan a straight path from simplicity to complexity; instead, it tries out a dazzling variety of forms, some successful, others temporary.
The armor of Spicomellus may not have lasted beyond its lineage, but its discovery shows us that the evolutionary story of dinosaurs was more diverse, more experimental, and more surprising than we ever imagined.
Why Dinosaurs Still Capture Our Imagination
Dinosaurs like Spicomellus continue to inspire wonder because they show us just how strange life on Earth can be. They challenge our assumptions, reminding us that the world was once filled with creatures so bizarre they almost defy imagination.
But these discoveries are not just curiosities. Each fossil adds a piece to the puzzle of life’s history. Each new species forces us to rethink how ecosystems worked, how animals adapted, and how evolution shaped the incredible diversity of forms that once roamed our planet.
In the case of Spicomellus afer, we have a dinosaur that didn’t just survive—it redefined what armor could look like.
Conclusion: The Dinosaur of Spikes and Surprises
Spicomellus afer may be gone for 165 million years, but its discovery has reignited curiosity and reshaped our understanding of ankylosaur evolution. With its collar of meter-long spikes, ribs fused to bony weapons, and possibly the earliest tail club in history, it stands as one of the strangest creatures ever to walk the Earth.
It reminds us that science is not just about cataloging what we already know—it is about uncovering the unexpected, embracing the bizarre, and learning to see the world as richer and stranger than we ever imagined.
The dinosaur of spikes is more than a fossil; it is a story of evolution’s creativity, of Africa’s hidden treasures, and of humanity’s unending quest to understand the past. And perhaps most importantly, it reminds us that the age of discovery is far from over.
More information: Extreme armour in the world’s oldest ankylosaur, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09453-6
