Scientists have discovered the first evidence of a unique respiratory infection in the fossil remains of dinosaurs that lived about 150 million years ago. The study was led by Carrie Woodruff of the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum.
Researchers examined the remains of an immature diplodocid—a long-necked herbivorous sauropod dinosaur, such as “Brontosaurus”—dating back to the late Jurassic period of the Mesozoic Era. A dinosaur named “Dolly” discovered in southwest Montana had evidence of infection in the region of its neck vertebrae.
The study’s hallmark was the unusual shape and texture in the unusual bony protrusions never seen before. These protrusions were each located in an area of the bone where they would have been penetrated by air sacs. Air sacs are non-oxygen exchanging parts of the respiratory system in modern birds that are also present in dinosaurs. The air sacs would eventually attach to “Dolly’s” lungs and form part of the dinosaur’s complex respiratory system. CT imaging of the irregular bulges revealed that they were made of abnormal bone that is likely to form in response to infection.
“We’ve all experienced these symptoms – cough, trouble breathing, fever and here’s a 150-million-year-old dinosaur that probably feels as sad as all of us when we get sick.” Woodruff said.
These findings, the researchers said, were important because Dolly was thought to be a non-avian dinosaur, and sauropods like Dolly did not evolve to become birds; Only avian theropods evolved into birds. The authors speculate that this respiratory infection may have been caused by a fungal infection similar to aspergillosis, a common respiratory disease affecting birds and reptiles today and that may lead to bone infections. In addition to documenting the first occurrence of such a respiratory infection in dinosaurs, this fossil infection also has important physiological implications for the respiratory system of sauropod dinosaurs.
Woodruff said, “This fossil transition in Dolly not only helps us trace the evolutionary history of early respiratory diseases, but it also gives us a better understanding of what kinds of diseases dinosaurs were susceptible to.” Were.”
“It would have been a remarkable, visibly sick sauropod,” Wolff said. “We’ve always thought of dinosaurs as big and tough, but they got sick. They had respiratory diseases like birds do today, in fact, maybe even the same devastating infections. In some cases.”
The researchers suggested that if Dolly had been infected with a respiratory infection such as aspergillosis, she likely experienced flu- or pneumonia-like symptoms such as weight loss, cough, fever and difficulty breathing. Since aspergillosis can be fatal to birds if left untreated, a potential similar infection in Dolly can eventually lead to the death of the animal.
“We have to continue to expand our knowledge about ancient diseases. If we look closely enough, we can begin to understand more about immunity and the evolution of infectious disease,” Wolff said. “When we work together among many specialties—veterinarians, anatomists, paleontologists, paleontologists, and radiologists—we can come up with a more complete picture of ancient disease.”
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