"Spicomellus is the world's oldest ankylosaur, having roamed the Earth 165 million years ago. The bizarre creature had bony spikes fused onto all of its ribs. This unusual feature has never been seen before in any other vertebrate species living or extinct, according to scientists. Ankylosaurs were a herbivorous group of dinosaurs known for their armoured, tank-like bodies and a club-shaped tail tip."
"Remains found by a team of palaeontologists have helped to build upon the original description of the animal which was based on just one rib bone found near the town of Boulemane in Morocco. The fossils also revealed the dinosaur had spikes measuring 87 centimetres, which could have been even longer during its life, emerging from a bony collar around its neck, according to the research published in science journal Nature."
Spicomellus lived about 165 million years ago and represents the oldest known ankylosaur. The dinosaur possessed bony spikes fused directly to its ribs, a feature not previously recorded in any vertebrate. A bony collar around the neck bore long spikes measured at 87 centimetres in the fossils and could have been longer in life. Ankylosaurs were herbivores with armoured, tank-like bodies and often clubbed tail tips. Remains found near Boulemane, Morocco expanded the original single-rib description into a more complete understanding. The presence of diverse plates and spikes across the body indicates unusual ornamentation and informs early ankylosaur evolution.
Read at Mail Online
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