It’s the oldest known ankylosaur to ever wield a tail weapon. The dinosaur also featured large, upward-growing spikes over its hips, an array of blade-like spikes down its torso, and armor plates across its shoulders. “To find such elaborate armor in an early ankylosaur changes our understanding of how these dinosaurs evolved,” Maidment explained. Some of the armor also appears more decorative than defensive, which is missing from all other known anklyosaurs. One potential explanation is that as predators evolved larger into the Cretaceous, ankylosaur armor evolved along with them to become simpler and more utilitarian.