Spicomellus

Say it like this: “SPY-co-MEL-lus”

Spicomellus afer

Spicomellus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Middle Jurassic. Bones have been found in Morocco.

Quiz me on Spicomellus

When: Middle Jurassic (Bathonian · Callovian) · roughly 168.2 to 161.5 million years ago
Named in: 2021 · Maidment, S. C. R.; Strachan, S. J.; Ouarhache, D.; Scheyer, T. M.; Brown, E. E.; Fernandez, V.; Johanson, Z.; Raven, T. J.; Barrett, P. M.
Hip height: 0.7 m · 2 ft
Length: 3 m · 10 ft
Weight: 300 kg · 661 lb
Found in: Morocco · El Mers III
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: armored dinosaur · Ankylosaur
Family branch: Ankylosauria

The story in short

The genus Spicomellus dates to 2021, the year S. C. R. Maidment and colleagues described it.

Fossils referred to Spicomellus date to the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian · Callovian), roughly 168.2 to 161.5 million years ago. Finds come from Morocco, including the El Mers III Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Spicomellus at a length near 3 m, hips about 0.7 m high, and a body mass around 300 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Ankylosauria, among the armored dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Acanthopholis

Acanthopholis horrida

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago

Ahshislepelta

Ahshislepelta minor

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Crichtonsaurus

Crichtonsaurus bohlini

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago