Prelim - Geography, Environment

Discovery in Morocco

• Fossils of Spicomellus afer, an ankylosaur dinosaur, were discovered in the Atlas Mountains near Boulemane, Morocco. Dating back 165 million years to the Jurassic Period, these fossils revealed one of the most extreme armoured dinosaurs known.

Unique Features

• Unlike many early dinosaurs with simpler body plans, Spicomellus was lavishly armoured with spikes and fused tail vertebrae, suggesting it may have wielded a tail weapon for defense, even though the weapon itself was not preserved in the fossils.

Significance in Evolution

• Spicomellus is the earliest-known ankylosaur, part of a group of plant-eating, tank-like dinosaurs that walked on four legs. Ankylosaurs were closely related to stegosaurs but proved more successful, surviving until the mass extinction 66 million years ago.

Legacy and Comparison

• While smaller than the later Ankylosaurus of North America, Spicomellus highlights that ankylosaurs evolved complex armour and defenses much earlier than previously thought, reshaping our understanding of dinosaur evolution.