Spicomellus afer: The “Godzilla Hedgehog” Dinosaur — The Strangest Armoured Reptile in History with a Body Covered in Metre-Long Spikes

A jaw-droppingly bizarre new ankylosaur, Spicomellus afer, has been revealed as the oldest and most extravagantly armoured dinosaur ever discovered. This Middle Jurᴀssic “spiked collar” dinosaur from Morocco sported metre-long bony spikes fused directly to its ribs and skeleton — a defensive and display feature unlike anything seen in any vertebrate, living or extinct.

The new, far more complete specimen was unearthed near Boulemane in the Atlas Mountains from the El Mers III Formation and described in Nature (August 2025). At roughly 165–168 million years old, Spicomellus is now confirmed as the earliest definitive ankylosaur and the first from Africa. The animal reached about 4 metres in length and 1–2 tonnes, yet its entire body bristled with extraordinary osteoderms.

Most astonishing are the mᴀssive spikes — some nearly a metre long — that erupted from its ribs and formed a dramatic collar around the neck. Additional “handle” vertebrae in the tail indicate it possessed a tail weapon more than 30 million years earlier than previously thought. This ornate armour likely served both defence and display.

Named “spiked collar from Africa,” Spicomellus rewrites ankylosaur origins: elaborate spikes evolved at the very beginning of the group, later simplifying in Late Cretaceous forms. Housed at Moroccan and UK insтιтutions, the fossils prove that the earliest tank-like dinosaurs were far weirder and more spectacular than anyone imagined.