Fossils of a new genus and species of an ankylosaurid dinosaur — Akainacephalus johnsoni — have been unearthed in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, USA, and are revealing new details about the diversity and evolution of this group of armored dinosaurs. The research indicates that the defining features of Akainacephalus — the spiky bony armor covering the skull and snout — align more closely with Asian ankylosaurids than other North American Late Cretaceous ankylosaurid dinosaurs.