New on the Fossil Files for our Patreon supporters: Digging for dinos in Morocco. I recorded this episode in the field in May. Have a listen to find out all about the latest developments in the Boulemane Dinosaur Project www.patreon.com/posts/161779...

Digging for dinosaurs and the battle against poaching: Susie reports from the field [Full Episode] | The Fossil Files Podcast

Digging up dinosaur fossils is a complicated and unpredictable business. But how does it feel to be one of the scientists on the ground doin

patreon.com

Exporting Moroccan fossils without a licence has been illegal since 2020, but the law has been a little unclear for those outside Morocco. In our new paper, my colleague and friend Kawtar Ech-charay clearly explains the law, using our field area as a case study: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The Palaeontological Heritage of Boulemane Between Illegal Looting and Geoconservation: Issues, Challenges and Solutions - Geoheritage

Morocco possesses important palaeontological heritage, recognized at both the national and international levels, including within the Boulemane region, located in the Middle Atlas Mountains. This repu...

link.springer.com

At the end of our fieldwork in the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco with @tweetisaurus.bsky.social @simonwills.bsky.social & @pimkaskes.bsky.social from @nhm-london.bsky.social & Driss Ouarhache, Khadija Boumir, Kawtar Ech-charay & @ahmedoussou.bsky.social from USMBA in Fès. What a team! 😍 (1/5)

An enforced break for us today because heavy rain is preventing us from getting into the quarry. We've got some nice material out over the past few days

Say hello to Galahadosuchus! 👋🏻 This new species of crocodile, which looked like a 'reptilian greyhound', would once have roamed southern Wales and southwest England on the hunt for anything it could fit in its snappy little mouth 🐊🦴 Find out more about it 👇🏻 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

New species of ancient crocodile named in honour of Welsh school teacher | Natural History Museum

It has been called Galahadosuchus jonesi in recognition of David Rhys Jones.

nhm.ac.uk

Out in @nature.com today, we shake up the ornithischian family tree. Remember those weird Late Cretaceous iguanodontians, the rhabdodontids? Well they're weird because they aren't iguanodontians. They're ceratopsians. Well, at least some of them are... www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A hidden diversity of ceratopsian dinosaurs in Late Cretaceous Europe - Nature

New results indicate that rhabdodontids and the previously described Ajkaceratops are actually distinctive European ceratopsians, a group better known from Asia and North America.

nature.com

Next Tuesday evening I'm giving an online seminar on Spicomellus for our funders, the British Institute of Libyan and Northern African Studies. It's free and anyone can come! Sign up here if you're interested us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Bizarre dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic of Morocco: implications for armoured dinosaur evolution. After registering, you will receive a confirmation emai...

The Middle Jurassic is a critical time in the evolution of the dinosaurs because it witnessed the radiation of many groups, giving rise to a diversity of familiar forms such as the plated stegosaurs a...

us02web.zoom.us

Great piece on this morning's Today program on Radio 4 about the discovery of the weird and very spiky Jurassic ankylosaur Spicomellus from Morocco, featuring @tweetisaurus.bsky.social, @richardjbutler.bsky.social, @ahmedoussou.bsky.social and @simonwills.bsky.social. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

How scientists discovered a 165m-year-old bizarre dinosaur - BBC Sounds

Our science editor Rebecca Morelle went behind the scenes at the Natural History Museum.

bbc.co.uk

Good coverage of illegal export of Middle Jurassic & other fossils from Morocco, featuring our friends & collaborators Kawtar Ech-charay & Driss Ouarhache. Kudos to George Blasing for doing the right thing & returning fossils he had purchased outside of Morocco. fr.le360.ma/culture/ce-q...

Ce que le trafic illicite de fossiles dit d’un marché parallèle bien installé au Maroc

Le Maroc voit chaque année partir des milliers de fossiles. Arrachés à la roche, revendus sur le marché international, ils rejoignent les vitrines de collectionneurs étrangers. La vente récente d’osse...

fr.le360.ma

In Fes, Morocco, today with @tweetisaurus.bsky.social for a conference at USMBA organised by our collaborator Abdessalam El Khanchoufi on the challenges of protecting palaeontological and archaeological heritage.

After we published the new specimen of #Spicomellus a few weeks ago, we were contacted by George Blasing, who said he'd bought some on the commercial market, and wanted to return it to Morocco. It arrived last week. Thanks George for doing the right thing in the name of science!

Last but not least from the NHM field trip to Morocco - we visited a lake which had dried up after its water dwindled away. It's a sight that could become more common around the world as a result of climate change, but there are ways to turn things around 👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/mor...

The Moroccan lake on the front line of the climate crisis | Natural History Museum

Lake Aoua dried up after the source of its water dwindled, but there are plans to restore the lake to its former glory.

nhm.ac.uk

Every year, an incredible array of dinosaurs are uncovered all over the world. While some end up in public collections, others end up for sale to the highest bidder. Join us as we dig a bit deeper into the debate over the commercial fossil trade (1/6) 🧵

This is how much Spicomellus changed in the last four years: 2021 reconstruction by Joschua Knüppe on left based on single rib known then; 2025 reconstruction by Matt Dempsey based on new material on right. My guess: when we get articulated material it's going to prove to be even weirder.

Congratulations @tweetisaurus.bsky.social on bringing Spicomellus afer to the world! Susie’s article is now out in Nature 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41... Also, www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

'Punk rock' dinosaur with metre-long spikes discovered

The animal has come as a surprise to experts, who now have to rethink how these armoured dinosaurs evolved

bbc.co.uk

For #FossilFriday some more images from the discovery & study of the new Spicomellus skeleton. An amazingly fun project with great people.

Would you want to go on a dinosaur dig? Our scientists have recently been working in Morocco to find out more about the country's fascinating dinosaurs - and we’ve got the inside story just for you! Find out how they uncovered some of the strangest-ever dinosaur fossils 🧵 (1/5)

More on Spicomellus, the weird wacky spiky punk-rock porcupine of a dinosaur, from the mad minds of @tweetisaurus.bsky.social & @richardjbutler.bsky.social Crazier than any of those hybrids we had in Jurassic World: Rebirth? My thoughts for @nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com/science/scie...

Spikes, a tail weapon and a shield: Was this the world's weirdest dinosaur?

The Spicomellus is “totally unlike anything else that we have ever seen,” said a co-lead of a study on the dinosaur, which lived some 165 million years ago.

nbcnews.com

It's a journey that wouldn't have been possible without help of many people in Morocco, not least Professor Driss Ouarhache. His knowledge of the region's geology helped to track down the bones to the mudstone slopes of the Middle Atlas, revealing a dinosaur hotspot in the process. (2/4)

Out today in Nature is the most exciting dinosaur paper I've ever been involved in - led by @tweetisaurus.bsky.social we describe a partial skeleton of the UTTERLY BIZARRE Spicomellus from the Middle Jurassic of Morocco, the oldest known ankylosaur. (1/x) www.nature.com/articles/s41...

If you like the new specimen of #Spicomellus, check out this film of us excavating the specimen, by Ben Webber at the @nhm-london.bsky.social youtu.be/TEeCFl0MJ0A?...

New dinosaur is unlike anything we've ever found | Unique armoured dinosaur discovered in Morocco

YouTube video by Natural History Museum

youtu.be

It also highlights the incredible significance of Moroccan palaeontology. A very sad part of this story is that Spicomellus fossils - very likely parts of exactly the same skeleton that we describe - are for sale having been illegally poached & smuggled. I hope these find their way back to Morocco.

Have you ever heard of #Spicomellus? It’s one of the world’s strangest dinosaurs. Its rib bone has spikes fused to it - something unheard of in any other animal! But now, more of the skeleton has been uncovered - and it's even stranger than anyone imagined... (1/4) 🧵

Hi all, me, @richardjbutler.bsky.social and the amazing UK-US-Moroccan team are delighted to announce that.. we have a new specimen of Spicomellus AND IT'S WAY WEIRDER AND WAY COOLER THAN WE EVER IMAGINED!!

NEW PAPER DAY! 🥳I'll start by sharing the OPEN ACCESS paper: 🧵 www.app.pan.pl/article/item...

Really pleased to see this paper out! Our exciting Middle Jurassic Moroccan site now has a steg, ank, cerapodan ornithischian and turiasaurian sauropod, some of which are the oldest of their clades. And there's more cool stuff to come, folks!

Cary Woodruff@doublebeam.bsky.social · last yr.

This is one I'm really excited about! A few years back, I was fortunate enough to join an expedition to Morocco led by @tweetisaurus.bsky.social and @Palaeo_Bham. We were in Morocco hunting for other things, but these three teeth were found, & I *vividly* remember holding them and going "Holy sh#t!"

Oh no! 🖤

@eavpalaeo.bsky.social · last yr.

Remembering Dr Tony Thulborn (1944–2025) - a pioneer in Australian palaeontology and a leading figure in the study of dinosaur tracks. We are saddened to share the news that Dr Richard Anthony ‘Tony’ Thulborn passed away suddenly on 22 July 2025.

Reconstructing dinosaur locomotion. Read the #BiologyLetters review: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... #palaeontology #biomechanics

Sorry for self promotion. But @tweetisaurus.bsky.social & me just published an article that might be of interest 🙂 royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

New frontiers in dinosaur exploration | Biology Letters

Two hundred years after the naming of the first dinosaur, taxonomic studies remain an important component of dinosaur research. Around 50 new dinosaurs are named each year and are discovered from acro...

royalsocietypublishing.org