Dinosaurs: ‘Bizarre’ fossil is Africa’s first ankylosaur

“Think of a coffee table. Short, broad, covered in spikes and walking towards you. That’s an ankylosaur!”

Dr Susie Maidment is describing a fabulous new fossil in her possession.

All she has is a section of rib with prongs attached. But even from just this, the palaeontologist can tell it’s a novel species of armoured dinosaur and the oldest ankylosaur ever found.

What’s more, it’s come out of Africa, from Morocco, where these creatures have never been unearthed before.