An Australian researcher discovered dozens of three-toed dinosaur footprints on a boulder in Callide Basin.

Researchers have discovered a fossil in Morocco of a dinosaur species that roamed the plains of northern Africa at least 165 million years ago, featuring a dangerous tail and "extreme" armor.

A group of 13 scientists revealed findings from a "much more complete specimen" of a Spicomellus afer in an article published by Nature.

The spicomellus is named for the first fossil of the species that was discovered, a rib fragment with fused spikes from the Middle Jurassic of Morocco, which suggested it was an ankylosaur. The rib fragment was the oldest record of the group globally and the only one from Africa at the time.

The new discovery, announced on Aug. 27, contained vertebrae, dorsal ribs, and spikes.

When it roamed, the spicomellus had a plethora of spikes that appeared to have made it a fearsome foe, as seen in illustrations created from the fossils.

"No other vertebrate possesses the exceptionally elaborate dermal armor of Spicomellus," the authors wrote. They added that simpler versions of the spikes found on later ankylosaurs suggest that the abundant spikes may have had a role in mating.

"It has these incredibly distinctive spikes around the neck - an armored collar that is absolutely enormous and totally out of proportion to the rest of the body, smaller spikes projecting out of the ribs, and at the end of its tail it would have had some kind of weapon," Richard Butler, Director of Research for the College of Life & Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham and the project co-lead, told The Guardian.

Butler described the two-ton creature as "dim-witted" but "successful."

Spicomellus find puts spotlight on fossil poaching

The authors of the Nature article said the discovery was first excavated by a local farmer near the town of Boulemane, about 160 miles southeast of the country's capital of Rabat, from October 2022 to April 2023.

Butler told The Guardian that the area the spicomellus was found in has been targeted by fossil poachers, with other pieces believed to be a part of the discovered spicomellus being listed online for around $13,500.

"There's a huge problem with fossil poaching in Morocco," Butler said. "There's probably a significant amount [of the specimen] that has gone on to the market, often purchased by wealthy individuals. It's quite a sad aspect of this story.