An ankylosaurus fossil dating back 168 million years has been discovered in Morocco

    An ankylosaurus fossil dating back 168 million years has been discovered in Morocco

    It is the first time that the remains of this herbivorous dinosaur, so far only found in America, have been found on the African continent

    It is the first time that the remains of this herbivorous dinosaur have been found on the African continent





    - ankylosaurs they were dinosaurs characterized by a powerful external armor that made them similar to modern porcupines and by a tail ending like a club. They could reach 7 meters in length and weigh 4 tons but, despite their terrifying appearance and not negligible tonnage, they were herbivores and therefore did not engage in hunting activities. Indeed, their teeth were too weak even for proper shredding of the vegetables - for this reason, probably, they were equipped with a highly developed digestion system based on fermentation.

    (Read also: Dinosaurs would not have become extinct, rather they thrived. New study reverses what we knew)

    So far the remains of this huge dinosaur have been discovered in the United States and Canada: in those cases they were fossils dating back to about 74 million years ago (in the middle of the Cretaceous Era). Now a new archaeological excavation places the ankylosaurus also on the African continent, and more precisely in today's Morocco, where scholars have come across the remains of an ankylosaurus dating back more than 168 million years ago - it is the oldest fossil of this species discovered so far, dating back to the Middle Jurassic Era. The discovery therefore demonstrates how this animal was widespread in all areas of the world in ancient times.

    But the very ancient dating is not the only specificity of this find: the fossil has long points attached to the bones of the vertebral column which, according to experts are unusual and have led to think of a specimen belonging to a new species - renamed Spicomellus afer, spikes collar.

    Follow us on Telegram | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | Youtube


    Fonte: Nature Ecology and Evolution


    We also recommend:

    • The snakes we see today evolved from the few species that survived the asteroid that made the dinosaurs extinct
    • Extinction of the dinosaurs: it was really the fault of an asteroid that caused a huge tsunami
    • These fossil footprints demonstrate human presence in America as early as 23.000 years ago
    add a comment of An ankylosaurus fossil dating back 168 million years has been discovered in Morocco
    Comment sent successfully! We will review it in the next few hours.