Overview

• New fossils from near Boulemane, Morocco, confirm Spicomellus afer as the earliest known ankylosaur dating to about 165 million years ago and the first identified on the African continent.
• The partial skeleton shows unprecedented armor, including spikes fused to every rib and a bony neck collar bearing spikes up to roughly one meter long, features unknown in any other vertebrate.
• Fused tail vertebrae forming a “handle” suggest a club-like tail weapon, pushing the origin of ankylosaur tail weaponry back by roughly 30 million years.
• Researchers estimate the low-slung herbivore at around 4 meters in length and up to about two tonnes, and interpret its extravagant armoring as likely shaped by display or sexual selection as well as defense.
• The UK–Morocco team excavated the 2022–2023 finds with local partners; the prepared material is curated in Fez, even as bones attributed to the specimen have appeared for sale, underscoring the need for stronger site protection.