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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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/...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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?...

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!

Oh no! 🖤

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/...

A new study by Smyth and colleagues identifies pterosaur trackmakers and shows that several lineages of Jurassic and Cretaceous pterosaurs independently evolved to thrive in terrestrial ecosystems, foraging on foot rather than on the wing! www.cell.com/current-biol... #paleontology #science 🧪

📘 If you're into geology, natural heritage, and protecting unique landscapes — this book is for you! Book edited by Reynard & Brilha is a comprehensive guide to identifying, assessing, and conserving geoheritage sites 🌍📚 #Geoheritage #NatureConservation #AcademicBooks

Paper out today in which we describe the world's oldest cerapodan dinosaur specimen. Morocco's El Mers 3 Fm might be the world's most important Middle Jurassic terrestrial ecosystem royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

On 18th March I'm doing a free, hybrid, public lecture at the GeolSoc on stegosaurs. Come along or join online: www.geolsoc.org.uk/03-PL-stegos...

Announcing the rather epic 'Glossary of tetrapod tracks' in Palaeontologia Electronica. Three years of work led by Jens Lallensack, and with Guiseppe Leonardi (author of the original '87 Glossary). We hope it will be useful for anyone working on tracks palaeo-electronica.org/content/2025...