A study conducted on fossils of dinosaurs that lived 150 million years ago showed that these animals suffered from respiratory infections similar to those of birds 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 that lived in the late Jurassic period (the “golden age” of dinosaurs) more than 145 million years ago was a type of lizards, and it was a long-necked herbivore. Its scientific name is “MOR 7029” and was nicknamed “Dolly”. His fossilized remains were discovered in 1990 in Montana, United States.
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 the discovery “was strange and I have not seen this case in any dinosaur.”
“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 come to 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 a feature of the respiratory systems of 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 explains that the approach made sense from an evolutionary standpoint.