The Oldest Ankylosaur Ever Found Had Spikes Fused to its Ribs - 7 Days of Science

In this week's 7 Days of Science, we cover a mass of amazing dinosaur news, from learning that Ankylosaur remains had their spikes fused to their ribs, an in-depth study in how dinosaurs ran, and even some incredible new news about Spinosaurus! Although we'll be covering that in more detail next week...

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Mars too small to be habitable?:

Spicomellus - the oldest ankylosaur:

Nuclear preservation in Caudipteryx:

The importance of tails in dinosaur locomotion:

[destroyerofmonsters]

Everybody gangsta until Anguirus is actually real.

[christianbontempo]

Don’t forget that today we learned of the discovery of two Spinosaurs from England. Ceratosuchops and Riparovenator.

[Scarlet_Soul]

Ah so much better, 2D Doug is back and not the weird 3D animation

[timsmith]

Tail wagging dinosaurs might look cute unless they're chasing you down. In modern times, I bet not many people would like being chased by a goose either including myself. 😆

[amicoandre]

I wonder if that means that the osteoderms in Ankylosaurs are actually the spikes that separated from the rib over millions of years.

[Valerio_the_wandering_sprite]

Given its spiny look and the fact this ankylosaur had rows of spikes sprouting from its bones, it wouldn't be a bad idea calling it the Pinhead dinosaur.

[unicornep]

Ahh the real Doug is back in his beautiful 2d sexiness

[paleoleft]

hell yeah i love ankylosaurs, its cool to hear new stuff about them

[alanthielking]

I must admit, I clicked on this because I expected that the particular Ankylosaur had lived to old age, and that was why the spikes had fused to the ribs.

[calvingrondahl]

Spicomellus...we talked about it at our museum staff meeting this morning, I saw it first on 7 Days of Science, thanks Ben. And thanks for the space news Doug, your humor is fun. Hello from Utah, USA.

[dannya]

Haven't dinosaurs always been depicted with their tails moving side to side as they ran? It seems to have been common sense for a very long time.

[thhseeking]

They look adorable as they run...towards you...mouths agape and filled with lots of "sharp, pointy teeth"! XD

[wafikiri_]

I thought lateral movement of the tail when walking or running was long established, I've always viewed dinosaur movement that way, it's the only reasonable way. Now you say it wasn't known? What a surprise!

[hollyodii]

Spikes in the ribs?! That’s next level extra.

[Ozraptor]

1:43 only the second ankylosaur from Gondwana? After Minmi… and Antarctopelta… and Kunbarrasaurus… and the Allen Formation ankylosaur…

[pastlife]

I visited the Dinosaur Isle museum on the Isle of Wight in July and got chatting with some of the palaeontologists there. They told me that two new spinosaurs had been described, but to not tell too many people because the press didn’t know yet. So this was a fun but if need to get today, because I knew it was coming!

[nefreetman]

I'm just going to start imagining what Alex would have said during his segments going forward

[JamesWilliams-djbp]

I have difficulty believing the 4 legged animal carried it's tail horizontally. There is no need to do so for balance. The weight of the tail would cause fatigue in the animal. Does man walk with their arms horizontally, even though there is better balance doing so?

[AngryMothNoises]

I am not sure how we think the tail thing is new? We all ready knew this was the case with Carno? Or is that different? Because in the paper talking about Carnosaurus tail it says its what helped is run as fast as it did.

[crimesartbalaur]

How can Spicomellus be the second Ankylosaurian from Gondwana if I can name Minmi, Kunbarrasaurus, and Antarctopelta off the top of my head?...