فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Rabat, Morocco – An international team of scientists has announced a “revolutionary” discovery in Morocco that could rewrite the history of the Ankylosaur family. The oldest fossil of this type of armored dinosaur, named “Spicomellus afer,” has been found, featuring huge spikes that can reach up to one meter in length.
A Unique Armored Dinosaur
According to the scientific journal Nature, the discovery process began in 2019 in the Boulemane region of Morocco. The fossil showed that the dinosaur’s body was completely covered in spikes, including thorny ribs, large spikes at the hips, a weapon on the tail, and sharp bones on the sides. Most surprisingly, a bony collar surrounding its neck was lined with spikes, some more than a meter long, which makes it unique.
Professor Idris Ourhash from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez, who participated in the research, confirmed that the discovery enhances Morocco’s standing in paleontology. London’s Natural History Museum quoted him as saying, “We have never seen dinosaurs like this before, and the region still has a lot to offer.”
The Oldest Known Armored Dinosaur in History
The fossil dates back about 165 million years, making it the oldest type of Ankylosaur discovered to date. Professor Richard Butler stated that this dinosaur is “one of the strangest dinosaurs ever discovered, and it doesn’t resemble any other species in the world.”
The scientific publication noted that the most prominent feature that gave the dinosaur its name is that its spikes were fused directly to the bones, not the skin as in other reptiles, raising questions about how it moved. It is also believed that its tail resembled a “great club,” a feature previously thought to have appeared only in later species.
Scientists confirm that these fossils will broadly change the way they view the nature of armored dinosaurs and how they evolved.
