A dinosaur nicknamed Spike: ‘This is not quite like anything we’ve seen before — so possibly a new species that we didn’t know about’

Sixty-six million years ago, the Earth was in its late Cretaceous period. The single landmass known as Pangea had split apart into something like the continents we recognise today. Yet the climate was around 10 degrees warmer — allowing rainforests to thrive near both poles — and sea levels were up to 170 metres higher, submerging 80 per cent of the planet’s surface. Giant marine reptiles patrolled the oceans, while flying reptiles filled the sky. The land, meanwhile, was dominated by some of the most fascinating species that have ever lived.

A long-necked Alamosaurus could measure up to 25 metres in length and weigh 35 tons — six times as much as an elephant — making it one the largest terrestrial animals of all time. Triceratops had evolved its iconic bony frill and trio of horns, as well as hundreds of teeth to chew through thick vegetation. And at the top of the Cretaceous food chain was the ultimate predator, Tyrannosaurus rex.

This was also the era of the Caenagnathidae. Part of the group of dinosaurs known as Oviraptorosauria, these bipedal creatures could grow to eight metres in length and weigh a ton. They had short, thick tails and powerful hind legs that could propel them forward at around 60 kilometres per hour — much faster than a hungry T. rex. A pair of long arms terminated in dangerous claws the length of a human finger: ideal for snatching their own small prey, grazing (they were probably omnivorous), or defence.

More fascinating, however, is the fact that, like modern-day birds, Caenagnathids also had pointed beaks and were covered in feathers. Crowning their heads was a large, bony protrusion, giving this particular Caenagnathid specimen its name: Spike.

On 11 December 2025, Spike is being offered in Groundbreakers: Icons of Our Time at Christie’s in London. It’s the best-preserved Caenagnathid in private hands, and this is the first time an example has been offered for sale to the public. ‘This is an incredibly rare, newly discovered dinosaur skeleton,’ says Ben Garrod, professor of evolutionary biology at the University of East Anglia, in the short film above.

The late Cretaceous came to a crashing halt when a 10-kilometre-wide asteroid slammed into what is now the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It caused a devastating megatsunami, firestorms and a global dust cloud that blocked out the sun, resulting in ecosystem collapse and bringing about an abrupt end to the dinosaurs’ 165-million-year reign. Relatively speaking, Spike was one of the last of its kind.

Not long after dying, Spike was entombed in a thick layer of mud, preventing decay and scavengers from tearing apart its carcass. The body then sank deep into the ground, where its bones became fossilised by a combination of immense pressure and mineralisation — a vanishingly rare sequence of events. To put it in perspective, of the 2.5 billion T. rex thought ever to have lived, fewer than 50 individuals have been discovered.

Spike lay undisturbed for millions of years, until 2022, when a palaeontologist discovered the bones in the side of a cliff on private land in South Dakota. The fossil formed part of the famous Hell Creek Formation, which has yielded two other species of Caenagnathidae.

The first was Anzu wyliei, nicknamed ‘the chicken from hell’. It was classified in 2014. The second, Eoneophron infernalis, was described in 2024, and is only known from a single, incomplete leg bone. A preliminary comparison of the morphology between those bones and Spike produced a remarkable result. ‘This skeleton isn’t quite like anything we’ve seen before,’ says James Hyslop, head of Science and Natural History at Christie’s. ‘Maybe — just maybe — this could be a new species.’

Oviraptorosauria were first discovered in 1924 near the Flaming Cliffs in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, during an expedition led by the American explorer and naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews. The initial specimen was found perched on top of a nest, its crushed skull above a clutch of 15 eggs. As a result, it was named ‘Oviraptor’, Latin for ‘egg thief’. Only in 1993, when matching eggs were discovered to contain the skeletons of infant Oviraptors, was it realised that this dinosaur wasn’t seizing eggs, but guarding them.

Spike comprises around 100 fossil bones, which for a Caenagnathid is ‘almost unheard of’, says Hyslop, who notes that they are preserved in ‘astonishing’ condition. The recent fusing of Spike’s bones indicates that it had just reached maturity. Quill knobs on the wrists suggest a coat of downy feathers, which would have been useless for flight but might have served as insulation, camouflage, or for visual display.

‘When I was growing up, dinosaurs were all very brown and green, and very lizard-like,’ says Hyslop. ‘My kids now understand that dinosaurs were much more colourful and feathered, and I find that more mysterious and intriguing, to imagine this beautiful world that existed in the late Cretaceous.’

‘It allows for courtship and territorial behaviour and display that we never imagined,’ says Garrod. ‘I think this is the next best thing to a time machine.’

Spike will be on show 6-11 December 2025 at Christie’s in London, ahead of the sale Groundbreakers: Icons of our Time, part of Classic Week. Spike can also be viewed in virtual reality through the Christie’s Select app