When you think of dinosaurs, your imagination probably jumps to towering beasts like Brachiosaurus nibbling on treetops, or ferocious hunters like T. rex chasing down prey. But not all dinosaurs fit into those neat categories of “giant” or “terrifying.” Some were small, squat, and armored like living tanks. And among them, one stands out as perhaps the strangest of them all: Spicomellus, a dinosaur so bizarre that even scientists were stunned when they uncovered its fossils.
A Living Fortress Covered in Spikes
Discovered in Morocco, fossils of Spicomellus revealed a creature unlike anything seen before. Unlike its close cousins, which already looked like four-legged medieval fortresses, Spicomellus turned the drama up a notch. It wasn’t just covered in armor; it bristled with spikes—enormous ones.
Some of its spikes stretched nearly a meter in length, jutting from its neck, hips, and along its sides. Others resembled blades, sharp and menacing. From a distance, it might have resembled a cross between a porcupine and a tank.
Professor Susannah Maidment from the Natural History Museum, who co-led the team studying the fossils, put it simply: “We’ve never seen anything like this in any animal before.”
For a time, Spicomellus looked like the ultimate defensive dinosaur. But here’s the twist: as it evolved, much of its showy armor was lost. Later ankylosaurs kept the tough bony plates but ditched the giant spikes. In other words, evolution toned down the dinosaur’s medieval wardrobe.
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Meet the Ankylosaurs: The “Walking Coffee Tables” of the Dinosaur World
To understand Spicomellus, you need to know about the ankylosaurs—the family it belonged to. Ankylosaurs were herbivores (plant-eaters) that lived from the Middle Jurassic through the Cretaceous period, vanishing in the same mass extinction that wiped out most dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
They were not graceful. Imagine a squat reptile walking close to the ground, armored from head to tail, often described as “walking coffee tables.” Their bodies were broad, flat, and heavy, supported by sturdy legs that kept them steady as they trudged through prehistoric landscapes.
What made ankylosaurs especially fascinating was their armor. Much like turtles, they had bony plates embedded in their skin, giving them natural shields against predators. Many species also developed tail clubs—massive, bone-crushing weapons that could swing with deadly force, enough to break the legs of predators.
But Spicomellus was different. Instead of sticking to the typical ankylosaur toolkit of flat plates and tail clubs, it came armed with flamboyant spikes.
Why Would a Dinosaur Lose Its Armor?
Usually, when species evolve, they gain new defenses as predators grow more dangerous. So why would Spicomellus’s descendants tone down their dramatic armor and spikes?
One theory is that the spikes were less about defense and more about attraction. In other words, they were dinosaur fashion statements. Just as a peacock’s elaborate tail feathers make it more noticeable to predators but irresistible to potential mates, Spicomellus may have used its spikes to show off strength and health.
Later ankylosaurs, however, lived in times when predators like early tyrannosaurs and massive carnivorous reptiles prowled the land. In those conditions, being flashy wasn’t worth the risk. Subtle, flatter armor may have offered more reliable protection without drawing unnecessary attention.
Evolution, it seems, nudged ankylosaurs away from flamboyance and toward practicality.
Show-Off Traits in Nature
The idea that Spicomellus used its spikes for more than defense isn’t far-fetched. Nature is full of creatures that evolve dramatic features for display rather than survival.
- Peacocks: The males grow enormous, colorful tails that make them easy targets for predators but irresistible to peahens.
- Deer and Antelope: Their antlers and horns are often more about competing with rivals for mates than fighting off predators.
- Birds of Paradise: These tropical birds perform elaborate dances and display dazzling feathers to impress potential mates.
In the same way, Spicomellus may have strutted its spiky frame not only to ward off danger but also to win hearts—or at least prehistoric admiration.
A Spine-Tingling Discovery
When scientists from the University of Birmingham and the Natural History Museum examined the fossils, they knew they had something unique. Professor Richard Butler, who co-led the study, described the first look as “spine-tingling.”
The spikes weren’t just attached to the body in the usual way. They were fused directly into the dinosaur’s armor plates—something never seen before in any living or extinct animal. That fusion made Spicomellus a puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit into what scientists thought they knew about ankylosaurs.
The fossils also hint that Spicomellus may have had a fused tail, suggesting the possibility of a tail club—a devastating weapon that later ankylosaurs wielded with deadly efficiency.
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Dinosaurs and Their Shifting Designs
The case of Spicomellus sheds light on a bigger truth about evolution: it doesn’t follow a straight line. Sometimes, traits evolve to become bigger and bolder; other times, they shrink or disappear. Evolution is about what works best for survival in a given environment, not about making creatures “better” in a human sense.
Take the example of stegosaurs, another group of armored dinosaurs. They had tall plates rising from their backs, which may have helped with thermoregulation (controlling body temperature) or display. They also carried tail spikes, known as “thagomizers,” which could be swung like spears. But over time, even stegosaurs disappeared, their flamboyant designs no longer favored by changing environments.
Similarly, the triceratops and its relatives developed elaborate frills and horns, which may have been as much for display and mating rituals as for defense. In fact, fossil evidence suggests that horn shapes and frills varied dramatically between species, supporting the idea of “show-off traits.”
In that sense, Spicomellus fits into a long tradition of dinosaurs evolving strange features—only for those features to eventually fade away when the environment shifted.
Morocco: A Treasure Trove of Ancient Life
The discovery of Spicomellus in Morocco adds to the country’s growing reputation as a hotspot for dinosaur fossils. North Africa during the Jurassic period was home to a rich variety of creatures, from armored dinosaurs like Spicomellus to massive predators like Spinosaurus in later eras.
Fossils from this region help fill in gaps about how dinosaurs spread across continents. Since Morocco sat on the edge of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana, it preserves a unique blend of dinosaur lineages not always found elsewhere.
What This Teaches Us About Evolution
The story of Spicomellus reminds us that evolution isn’t a straight march toward perfection. Instead, it’s a constant balancing act between survival, attraction, and adaptation. Traits that seem useful at one time may become liabilities later.
For a while, being covered in giant spikes may have been advantageous—or at least stylish. But as predators grew stronger, subtle armor became a smarter choice. What once made Spicomellus stand out eventually made it too vulnerable, and evolution favored ankylosaurs that blended defense with simplicity.
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Dinosaurs Still Hold Surprises
Even after centuries of fossil hunting, discoveries like Spicomellus prove that dinosaurs still have secrets to share. Each new find reshapes our understanding of how they lived, adapted, and disappeared.
As Professor Butler put it, “Spicomellus turns much of what we thought we knew about ankylosaurs on its head and demonstrates just how much there still is to learn about dinosaurs.”
And perhaps that’s the most exciting part: every fossil is a reminder that the prehistoric world was more diverse, more creative, and more unexpected than we ever imagined.\
Image: Recreation/GPT-5o.
