World’s Oldest Ankylosaur Discovered in Morocco

Scientists have announced the discovery of the oldest known ankylosaur species, named Spicomellus afer, found in Morocco’s Middle Atlas Mountains.

Dating back approximately 165 million years to the Middle Jurassic period, this makes it the earliest definitive ankylosaur ever found. The nearly complete skeleton belongs to a dinosaur that measured about 4 meters (13 feet) long and weighed around 2 tonnes.

What makes this find particularly remarkable is its armor: it featured long, sharp spikes that were fused directly to its ribs — an extremely advanced defensive structure for its time, more elaborate than many later armored dinosaurs.

This discovery represents the first ankylosaur ever found in Africa and provides important new insights into the early evolution and spread of armored dinosaurs.

The findings raise interesting questions about why such heavy and complex armor evolved so early in dinosaur history.