New dinosaur species with unique slashing tail discovered in Chile

Scientists discovered fossils from a strange-looking dog-sized dinosaur species with a unique cutting tail weapon in Chile on Wednesday.

Some dinosaurs possessed spiked tails that could be used as stabbing weapons, while others had club-like tails. According to senior author Alex Vargas, the new species, detailed in a study published in the journal Nature, features something never seen before on any animal: seven pairs of ‘blades’ set out horizontally like a slicing weapon used by ancient Aztec warriors.

The plant-eating animal possessed a mix of features from many species, which originally led palaeontologists astray. The researchers dubbed it stegouros elengassen because its back end, with its tail weapon, resembled that of a stegosaurus.