Fossils can distinguish us a caboodle about dinosaurs , and sometimes , it can be middling surprising . That ’s for certain the casing for a new study that analyzed the bones of everyone ’s favorite biped marauder , the theropod . The enquiry uncover that this grouping of dinosaurs may have been affected by bone disease , and that particular types of theropod could be associated with specific patterns of disease and injury .
To make this close , the research squad used a compounding of CT scan and microscopical analysis ( also lie with as histology ) to try out the bones of three theropod species : Aucasaurus garridoi , Elemgasem nubilus , andQuilmesaurus curriei . All three were predatory dinosaur with curt branch and hefty skulls ( like their fellow famous theropod , T. male monarch ) that subsist in South America around 90 to 70 million years ago , during the Late Cretaceous .
The scans uncover grounds of os disease in all three dinosaurs . In the foot ofA. garridoi ’s tail , the researchers find two vertebrae coalesce together , which they put down to a congenital disorder – it came out of theeggwith it . E. nubilusalso had evidence of ivory fusing , as well as giantism ; in this case , the researchers suggested that this could be the outcome of inflammatory arthritis .
The analysis also highlight temporary bone formation in one ofQ. curriei ’s legs . This was a in particular rarefied discovery , as palaeontologist have n’t found much evidence of disease in weight - bear bone in theropods . Some mysteries stay , however , as the team could n’t say for trusted what the cause of the irregularity was . Regardless , it may well have given this dinosaur problems stimulate about .
In hunt of any patterns to which disease affectedtheropods , the researcher then took to reviewing the existing literature on both bone disease and injury in this radical . The three species analyzed in the current report all belong to the wider family Abelisauridae ; the literature revealed that mintage in this family could be positively associated with bone fervour , paint a picture that they were in all probability fairly infection - prone .
The lit recapitulation also made some interesting determination when it came to bone injuries in theropods . We might require a lot of humiliated castanets , but it bend out that ’s not the case for the family Tyrannosauridae . Instead , mintage in this radical are more likely to be colligate with collation bull’s eye on the skull ( ouch ) , designate that they got aggressiveprettyoften . The opposite was find for Allosauridae – that hint they were dynamic predators , so whilst they were n’t belligerent , they were n’t exactly lovers either .
The field of study provides an example of just how much we can find out about dinosaurs and their lifestyles from bones alone . But if you believe the presence of bone disease in therapods might have rendered them completely dependable , remember – they still hadpretty big jaw . Something to keep in mind , Delaware - extinctionenthusiasts .
The field of study is published in the journalBMC Ecology and Evolution .
