Scientific name: Thyreophoran Dinosaur Tooth (Likely cf Spicomellus or Adratiklit) - Akylosaur or Stegosaur Location: Boulemane, Atlas Mountains, Morocco Geological Formation: El Mers Fm = Guettioua Fm Age: Middle Jurassic, Bathonian-Callovian, 167.7–164.7 Ma Size: 4,4 mm REF.: #S134 DESCRIPTION: At least three distinct species of basal Thyreophorans have already been described in the Jurassic outcrops of the El Mers Formation in Morocco, including the famous spiny Spicomellus afer (Akylosaurid) and Adratiklit bouarfa (Stegosaurid). These are the oldest known Akylosaurids and Stegosaurids in the world. Here we present a small tooth belonging to one of them, still preserved in its natural matrix. It is difficult to assign it to one taxon or another with only a single tooth. In any case, this is an example of the tiny dentition of these most basal armored dinosaurs known in the world. A true rarity. Spicomellus (meaning "collar of spikes") is an extinct genus of herbivorous ankylosaurian dinosaur that lived in the supercontinent Gondwana during the Middle Jurassic Period. The genus name means "spiked collar", from the Latin 'spica' meaning spike, and 'mellum' meaning spiked dog collar and the specific name 'afer' means "the African". Spicomellus is the second described eurypodan taxon from North Africa, after Adratiklit, and the oldest known ankylosaur from anywhere in the world. Despite being a basal ankylosaurian, the preserved dermal spikes of the holotype were fused to the bone, which is a trait unique to Spicomellus and not known from any other vertebrate. Because the dermal spikes were fused to the bone instead of being attached to muscle tissue in all other ankylosaurs, this trait would probably have made it harder for the animal to move. Though its exact size is unknown, it was likely comparable in size to other Middle Jurassic ankylosaurs like Sarcolestes and Tianchiasaurus. This puts our best size estimates for Spicomellus at no longer than 3 metres (9.8 ft) when fully grown. All of our fossils come with a Certificate of Authenticity. Every week, the issued Certificates of Authenticity are updated in our database verification system on our website. If you find that your certificate has not yet been updated, please contact us and we will update it immediately. IMPORTANT SHIPPING INFORMATION: Our company is based in the USA, but our headquarters and products are located in Europe. Therefore, ALL PRODUCTS WILL BE SHIPPED FROM EUROPE. Consequently, any European customer will receive their shipment without any import charges, as it will be an intra EU-communitary shipment. For customers in the USA: Shipments will be made via UPS from Europe, and in this case, we will be responsible for any import charges. These will be paid online by us before the package arrives. Therefore, US customers will not pay any import fees as well. For the rest of the world: We are not responsible for any import charges applicable to the destination country.