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It's been a while since we've seen a dinosaur with a face like this.
Up to now, we have had to make an effort to be delighted with enigmatic footprints, or gentle-mannered behemoths with fluffy and fluffy feathers. Or that downright hybrid dino-hybrid that mixes parts of swan, penguin and duck.
But the discovery of the old thorny head, or Akainacephalus johnsoni, is a breath of fresh, fierce air – a step back, if one can say, at a time when dinosaurs were dinosaurs .
The fossil remains of Akainacephalus johnsoni – the name literally means "thorny" or "thorny head" – were found in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument of Utah in 2008. This area of the park , known as Kaiparowits, is so rich in dinosaur tombs that it is known as "Shangi-La Dinosaur."
But the 2008 discovery was, literally, thorny head and shoulders above previous discoveries.
"We have a large part of the skeleton, including almost all of the skull, much of the spine, the pelvis, as well as the limbs and ribs, and much of the armor , "Randall Irmis, chief curator of the National History Museum of Utah, notes in a press release. "It's pretty rare to find so many skeletons in one place."
A dinosaur "completely different"
With such an abundance of bone, reconstruction expert Randy Johnson was able to replenish an old spiky head, a much better known cousin of the Ankylosaurus .
And what a fearsome setting it turned out to be.
"It's completely different from the other ankylosaurids we've actually seen," says researcher Jelle Wiersma in the release.
In fact, this particular dinosaur has never been recorded in the scientific literature until now.
Like his cousin Ankylosaurus, the thorny face was covered from head to toe in scales and plaques, technically bone deposits called osteoderms. The creatures also shared a club-like tail.
But the star? A face only a pin cushion might like.
"His head is particularly thorny," says Irmis.
Indeed, it was one of the first things that scientists noticed from the dusty skull of the animal. They suspect that 76 million years ago – when Akainacephalus Johnson walked on Earth – these spikes would have made a great impression.
"What makes Akainacephalus unique is its skull," says Wiersma in a YouTube video. "If you look at his skull, you'll see that he's really heavily adorned."
Of course, when you share the same turf as Tyrannosaurus rex, as Akainacephalus did, you need all the possible benefits. And sometimes you have to make a particularly pointed statement that you are not playing with.
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