‘Spicomellus Afer’, which wandered on Earth 165 million years ago, is the oldest of the anquilosaurs, a group of herbivorous dinosaurs known for the bodies similar to military tanks
A dinosaur, considered one of the “strangest” ever seen, had a bone thorns armor and sledgehammer -shaped tail, according to a research published this week in the scientific journal Nature. The “Spicomellus Afer”, which wandered for 165 million years ago, is the oldest of the anquilosaurs, a group of herbivorous dinosaurs known for the bodies similar to military tanks. The image the paleontologists had Spicomellus was based on a single costal bone found in Morocco in 2019. However, newly discovered remains helped scientists have a clearer idea of this unusual dinosaur.
The fossils revealed that he had bone thorns fused in the ribs, something never seen before in any other alive or extinct vertebrate, according to the study published on Wednesday.
Richard Butler, professor at Birmingham University and project codirector, qualified fossils as an “incredibly significant discovery.” “Spicomellus is one of the strangest dinosaurs we have found,” he said.
Professor Susannah Maidment, from the London Natural History Museum, said the armor initially evolved defensive, but was probably used later to attract partners and display before the rivals. “Spicomellus had a wide variety of signs and thorns that stretched throughout their body, including one meter long thorns in the neck, huge thorns that excel up over the hips and a whole series of long thorns formed by two long thorns and plates along the shoulders,” he explained. “We had never seen anything like any other animal.”
*With information from AFP
Posted by Nicolas Robert
