Scientists have discovered a bizarre armoured dinosaur which had metre-long spikes sticking out from its neck. The species, called Spicomellus afer, lived 165 million years ago, and is the oldest example of a group of armoured dinosaurs called ankylosaurs.
The elaborateness and spikiness of the animal found in Morocco has come as a shock to experts, who now have to rethink how these armoured dinosaurs evolved. Prof Richard Butler, from the University of Birmingham who co-led the research, told BBC News that it was the 'punk rocker' of its time.
Punk rock is a sub-culture and music style that first emerged in the 1970s. Its followers often have spiky hair and accessories. It is one of the strangest dinosaurs ever discovered, said Prof Butler.
Prof Butler's project co-leader, Prof Susannah Maidment of the Natural History Museum, added that it was surprising that the spikes were fused directly onto the bone. We don't see that in any other animal, living or extinct, she said.
These animals survived late into the time dinosaurs were on Earth, in a period known as the Cretaceous. It had been thought that ankylosaurs started off with simple small armoured plates on their back, which then became larger for protection against predators, according to Prof Butler. The discovery of Spicomellus afer, however, indicates a different evolutionary path.
Additionally, the researchers estimate that this dinosaur would have measured about four metres long and one metre high, weighing around two tonnes. The fossils were discovered by a local farmer in the Moroccan town of Boulemane, marking the first ankylosaur found on the African continent.
The research has been published in the journal Nature.
