A dinosaur that walked across Europe 155 million years ago has emerged from a Portuguese cliff — and scientists believe its fossil could be the most complete dinosaur skeleton ever discovered in the country.
The remarkable ankylosaurus was found near Torres Vedras after a single bone was spotted protruding from a cliff close to the mouth of the Sizandro River.
In June 2025, researcher Luís Domingos noticed part of a femur exposed in the rock while conducting paleontological survey work. With coastal erosion threatening to destroy the fossil, researchers quickly recovered the exposed bone.
When they returned to investigate further, they found something extraordinary.
Around 45 osteoderms — thick bony plates that formed the dinosaur’s natural armor — were recovered, identifying the animal as an ankylosaur.
The fossils come from geological layers dating between approximately 157.3 and 152.1 million years ago, making the specimen the oldest known ankylosaur from continental Europe.
Researchers estimate that the skeleton is already around 85 percent complete. And it may be even more intact than it first appears.
Because the dinosaur is lying face down, scientists believe its two front limbs could still be hidden beneath its armor and surrounding osteoderms.
For paleontologists, that possibility makes this ancient armored giant even more extraordinary.
Portugal’s fossil-rich Lourinhã region has long been known as a dinosaur hotspot. Now, a discovery from its Jurassic past could add one of the country’s most remarkable dinosaurs yet to that prehistoric record.