“We simply couldn’t consider how bizarre it was and the way not like some other dinosaur, or certainly some other animal we all know of, alive or extinct,” mentioned Richard Butler, challenge co-lead and a paleontologist on the College of Birmingham in England.
The prospect to see and research the Spicomellus fossils was “spine-tingling,” mentioned Butler.
It wasn’t simply these concerned within the challenge who have been enthused.
“That is actually one of many weirdest, wackiest dinosaurs I’ve ever seen,” mentioned Steve Brusatte, a vertebrate paleontologist on the College of Edinburgh who was not concerned within the analysis.
“It has bony spikes protruding from throughout its physique, prefer it’s some form of reptilian porcupine,” he mentioned Thursday. “When you have been a meat-eating dinosaur dwelling again within the Jurassic interval, you’d keep nicely away from this animal.”
Brusatte added: “It’s a terrific instance of how there are nonetheless so many new issues to find. Till these fossils have been discovered, we had no inclination that an animal this unbelievable had ever lived.”
Maidment, the research co-lead, mentioned the invention confirmed that much more analysis must be performed in Africa, with nations like Morocco an untapped gold mine for dinosaur analysis.
“It’s wildly undersampled in comparison with the opposite continents,” mentioned Maidment, from London’s Nationwide Historical past Museum.
Maidment mentioned that the Spicomellus challenge, which truly started in 2018, confronted a number of hurdles alongside the best way, together with the Covid-19 pandemic.
The U.Ok. crew was set to fly out to fulfill its Moroccan counterparts for the challenge when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced a lockdown, in the end delaying their plans till 2022.
Regardless of these challenges, the analysis challenge has proved to be a significant step ahead for science in Morocco.
“This research helps to drive ahead Moroccan science. We’ve by no means seen dinosaurs like this earlier than, and there’s nonetheless much more this area has to supply,” mentioned Driss Ouarhache, who led the Moroccan crew.
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