A study conducted on the fossils of dinosaurs that lived 150 million years ago showed that these animals were suffering from respiratory infections similar to those that birds suffer today.
The study, published in “Scientific Reports”, confirmed that this result represents the first strong evidence of an infectious disease in non-flying dinosaurs that became extinct 65 million years ago.
This animal, which lived in the late Jurassic period, the “golden age of the dinosaurs”, more than 145 million years ago. It was a type of lizard-footed, He was a long-necked herbivore, and his scientific name is “MOR 7029” and was nicknamed “Dolly”. His fossils were discovered in 1990 in Montana, United States.
A graphic showing the supposed respiratory system of the dinosaur Dolly and comparing its length to that of humans
When paleontologist Carrie Woodruff examined Dolly’s neck bones years later, he identified bone spurs of unusual shape and texture. The orchids specialist and lead study author told AFP that this discovery “was strange, as I had not seen this case in any dinosaur before.”
“I shared the information with my colleagues, scientists and veterinarians…and they told me it was amazing and it looks like the dinosaur had a respiratory infection,” said a researcher at the Royal Ontario Museum at the University of Toronto.
What made scientists reach this conclusion is the abnormal protrusions located at the bottom of the animal’s neck, at the point of overlap of the air sacs, which are air-filled sacs that connect to the lungs, and are considered one of the features of special breathing devices With dinosaurs and birds.
The scan then analyzed the inner portion of the bone, confirming an abnormality caused by a side accident in response to an infection in the air sacs.
Determining the diagnosis is difficult, as there is no biological trace of these tissues, and to verify this, the scientists resorted to the closest living strain of “Dolly”, which is birds. Carrie Woodruff explained that the approach made sense from an evolutionary standpoint.
His team, which also includes veterinarians, noticed diseases in birds that had the same bone symptoms.
Dinosaur Dolly’s neck bones and protrusions
Aspergillosis, a fungal infection of the respiratory system in birds, has “very similar” characteristics to the disease that infected Dolly. The paleontologist confirmed that this respiratory infection is the most prevalent among birds today, “and from the point of view of evolution, it has a source.”
The scientist added that the dinosaur “Dolly” lived in a hot and humid climate, and this is a favorable environment for fungal infection, ruling out the exposure of the dinosaur to viral infections such as bird flu because it “does not hit the bones in the same way.”
Aspergillosis causes flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, sneezing and coughing, which can be fatal if left untreated.
“Dolly must have been in great pain, and perhaps this infection killed him or weakened him, making him easy prey,” Woodruff said. Other predatory animals such as tyrannosaurus“.
