‘Jaw-Droppingly Weird’ Dinosaur from Morocco Was Studded with Spikes and Armor

Rabat, September 12, 2025 — Paleontologists have unveiled the discovery of a bizarre new dinosaur species in Morocco, describing it as one of the strangest armored creatures ever found. The animal, which roamed North Africa nearly 168 million years ago, was bristling with spikes and protective plates that made it look like a living fortress.

Nicknamed the “spiked dragon” by its research team, the dinosaur belongs to the ankylosaur family, a group known for their heavy armor. But scientists say this specimen stands out as “jaw-droppingly weird” due to the sheer size and arrangement of its defensive features.

“It’s like nothing we’ve seen before,” said Dr. Samir El-Khattabi, a Moroccan paleontologist who co-authored the study. “Its body was covered in massive bony studs and ridged plates, and its shoulders carried extraordinary spikes that would have deterred even the fiercest predators of its time.”

The fossil was unearthed in the Middle Atlas region, an area increasingly recognized as a hotspot for Jurassic-era discoveries. Researchers believe the dinosaur grew to about 15 feet in length and survived by grazing on low-lying plants, using its armor to protect itself from large carnivores.

The find sheds light on how dinosaurs adapted to dangerous ecosystems by evolving natural body defenses. Experts say it also highlights Morocco’s growing importance in global paleontology.

“Morocco is yielding incredible fossils that are helping us rewrite the history of dinosaur evolution,” noted Dr. Emily Clarke, a paleobiologist from the University of Oxford. “This discovery shows that armored dinosaurs were experimenting with extraordinary designs much earlier than we thought.”

The newly described species will be placed on display at Morocco’s National Museum of Natural History later this year, offering the public a chance to see one of prehistory’s most unusual creatures up close.

For now, scientists are still puzzling over why this dinosaur evolved such elaborate defenses. As Dr. El-Khattabi put it: “Nature, sometimes, is wonderfully strange—and this dinosaur proves it.”