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Bertozzo F, Stein K, Varotto E, Galassi FM, Ruffell A, Murphy E. Histological analysis and etiology of a pathological iguanodontian femur from England. J Anat 2024; 245:490-500. [PMID: 38726991 PMCID: PMC11306762 DOI: 10.1111/joa.14053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Derived ornithopods, such as hadrosaurids, show a high occurrence of fossilized lesions and diseases. However, paleopathologies in iguanodontians seem to be less common, considering the rich fossil record of these taxa in Europe, in particular in Belgium, Britain and Spain. Here, we describe an iguanodontian femur discovered in England that exhibits a large overgrowth of its lateral aspect, not previously recognized in any other similar remains. The specimen was scanned with micro-computed tomography (microCT) and later sectioned in three sites of the overgrowth for histological analysis. The femur belongs to an early adult Iguanodontia indet., based on the presence of a woven parallel fibered complex in the outer cortex and three to four lines of arrested growth. Internal analysis of the dome-like overgrowth suggests it can be diagnosed as a fracture callus. The injury might have negatively impacted upon the animal's locomotion as the trauma had occurred in the region above the knee, a crucial spot for hindlimb musculature. Finally, a cancellous medullary bone-like tissue was recognized in the medullary cavity next to the pathological overgrowth. An attempt was made to determine the precise nature of this tissue, as medullary bone is linked with the ovulation period in (avian) dinosaurs, whereas other types of endosteal, medullary bone-like tissue have previously been recognized in pathological bones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filippo Bertozzo
- Operational Directorate Earth and History of Life, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
- Sociedade de Historia Natural, Torres Vedras, Portugal
| | - Koen Stein
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Elena Varotto
- Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- FAPAB Research Center, Avola (SR), Sicily, Italy
| | - Francesco M Galassi
- Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | - Alastair Ruffell
- School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Eileen Murphy
- School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
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2
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Schaeffer J, Wolff E, Witzmann F, Ferreira GS, Schoch RR, Mujal E. Paleobiological implications of chevron pathology in the sauropodomorph Plateosaurus trossingensis from the Upper Triassic of SW Germany. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0306819. [PMID: 39083447 PMCID: PMC11290664 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Paleopathology, the study of diseases and injuries from the fossil record, allows for a unique view into the life of prehistoric animals. Pathologies have nowadays been described in nearly all groups of fossil vertebrates, especially dinosaurs. Despite the large number of skeletons, pathologies had never been reported in the sauropodomorph Plateosaurus trossingensis. Here we describe the first pathologies of Plateosaurus using two individuals with pathologies in the chevrons of the tail, from the Upper Triassic of Trossingen, SW Germany. The two specimens each contain three consecutive pathological chevrons. Our results show that the pathologies were caused by external trauma in one individual and potentially tendinous trauma in the other. Healing of the lesions allowed survival of both animals. Using additional pathological specimens found in other collections and from multiple localities, we observe that 14.8% of all individuals of Plateosaurus contain pathologies within their chevrons, suggesting it was a vulnerable bone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joep Schaeffer
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
- Institut für Biologie, Universität Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Ewan Wolff
- Honors College, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
| | - Florian Witzmann
- Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gabriel S. Ferreira
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (HEP) at the University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rainer R. Schoch
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
- Institut für Biologie, Universität Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Eudald Mujal
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP-CERCA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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3
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Baiano MA, Cerda IA, Bertozzo F, Pol D. New information on paleopathologies in non-avian theropod dinosaurs: a case study on South American abelisaurids. BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:6. [PMID: 38291378 PMCID: PMC10829224 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02187-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Studies on pathological fossil bones have allowed improving the knowledge of physiology and ecology, and consequently the life history of extinct organisms. Among extinct vertebrates, non-avian dinosaurs have drawn attention in terms of pathological evidence, since a wide array of fossilized lesions and diseases were noticed in these ancient organisms. Here, we evaluate the pathological conditions observed in individuals of different brachyrostran (Theropoda, Abelisauridae) taxa, including Aucasaurus garridoi, Elemgasem nubilus, and Quilmesaurus curriei. For this, we use multiple methodological approaches such as histology and computed tomography, in addition to the macroscopic evaluation. The holotype of Aucasaurus shows several pathognomonic traits of a failure of the vertebral segmentation during development, causing the presence of two fused caudal vertebrae. The occurrence of this condition in Aucasaurus is the first case to be documented so far in non-tetanuran theropods. Regarding the holotype of Elemgasem, the histology of two fused vertebrae shows an intervertebral space between the centra, thus the fusion is limited to the distal rim of the articular surfaces. This pathology is here considered as spondyloarthropathy, the first evidence for a non-tetanuran theropod. The microstructural arrangement of the right tibia of Quilmesaurus shows a marked variation in a portion of the outer cortex, probably due to the presence of the radial fibrolamellar bone tissue. Although similar bone tissue is present in other extinct vertebrates and the cause of its formation is still debated, it could be a response to some kind of pathology. Among non-avian theropods, traumatic injuries are better represented than other maladies (e.g., infection, congenital or metabolic diseases, etc.). These pathologies are recovered mainly among large-sized theropods such as Abelisauridae, Allosauridae, Carcharodontosauridae, and Tyrannosauridae, and distributed principally among axial elements. Statistical tests on the distribution of injuries in these theropod clades show a strong association between taxa-pathologies, body regions-pathologies, and taxa-body regions, suggesting different life styles and behaviours may underlie the frequency of different injuries among theropod taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia A Baiano
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, 1425, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Area Laboratorio e Investigación, Museo Municipal 'Ernesto Bachmann', Dr Natali S/N, 8311, Villa El Chocon, Neuquén, Argentina.
- Universidad Nacional de Río Negro (UNRN), Isidro Lobo 516, 8332, General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina.
| | - Ignacio A Cerda
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, 1425, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Universidad Nacional de Río Negro (UNRN), Isidro Lobo 516, 8332, General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina
- Instituto de Investigacion en Paleobiología y Geología (IIPG), Av. Roca 1242, 8332, General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina
- Museo Carlos Ameghino, Belgrano 1700 (Paraje Pichi Ruca, Predio Marabunta), 8324, Cipolletti, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Filippo Bertozzo
- Operational Directorate Earth and History of Life, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Diego Pol
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, 1425, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, Av. Fontana 140, 9100, Trelew, Chubut, Argentina
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Takasaki R, Chiba K, Fiorillo AR, Brink KS, Evans DC, Fanti F, Saneyoshi M, Maltese A, Ishigaki S. Description of the first definitive
Corythosaurus
(Dinosauria, Hadrosauridae) specimens from the Judith River Formation in Montana, USA and their paleobiogeographical significance. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.25097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ryuji Takasaki
- Faculty of Biosphere‐Geosphere Science Okayama University of Science Okayama Japan
| | - Kentaro Chiba
- Faculty of Biosphere‐Geosphere Science Okayama University of Science Okayama Japan
| | - Anthony R. Fiorillo
- The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science Albuquerque New Mexico USA
| | - Kirstin S. Brink
- Department of Earth Sciences University of Manitoba Manitoba Canada
| | | | - Federico Fanti
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali Alma Mater Studiorum, Universita di Bologna Bologna Italy
| | - Mototaka Saneyoshi
- Faculty of Biosphere‐Geosphere Science Okayama University of Science Okayama Japan
| | - Anthony Maltese
- Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center Woodland Park Colorado USA
| | - Shinobu Ishigaki
- Faculty of Biosphere‐Geosphere Science Okayama University of Science Okayama Japan
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Chinzorig T, Beguesse KA, Canoville A, Phillips G, Zanno LE. Chronic fracture and osteomyelitis in a large-bodied ornithomimosaur with implications for the identification of unusual endosteal bone in the fossil record. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2022. [PMID: 36193654 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Revised: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Paleopathological diagnoses provide key information on the macroevolutionary origin of disease as well as behavioral and physiological inferences that are inaccessible via direct observation of extinct organisms. Here we describe the external gross morphology and internal architecture of a pathologic right second metatarsal (MMNS VP-6332) of a large-bodied ornithomimid (~432 kg) from the Santonian (Upper Cretaceous) Eutaw Formation in Mississippi, using a combination of X-ray computed microtomography (microCT) and petrographic histological analyses. X-ray microCT imaging and histopathologic features are consistent with multiple complete, oblique to comminuted, minimally displaced mid-diaphyseal cortical fractures that produce a "butterfly" fragment fracture pattern, and secondary osteomyelitis with a bone fistula formation. We interpret this as evidence of blunt force trauma to the foot that could have resulted from intra- or interspecific competition or predator-prey interaction, and probably impaired the function of the metatarsal as a weight-bearing element until the animal's death. Of particular interest is the apparent decoupling of endosteal and periosteal pathological bone deposition in MMNS VP-6332, which produces transverse sections exhibiting homogenously thick endosteal pathological bone in the absence of localized periosteal reactive bone. These distribution and depositional patterns are used as criteria for ruling out a pathological origin in favor of a reproductive one for unusual endosteal bone in fossil specimens. On the basis of MMNS VP-6332, we suggest caution in their use to substantiate a medullary bone identification in extinct archosaurians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.,Paleontology Research Laboratory, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Kyla A Beguesse
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.,Paleontology Research Laboratory, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Aurore Canoville
- Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein, Gotha & Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany
| | - George Phillips
- Conservation & Biodiversity Section, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Jackson, Mississippi, USA
| | - Lindsay E Zanno
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.,Paleontology Research Laboratory, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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Cerda IA, Novas FE, Carballido JL, Salgado L. Osteohistology of the hyperelongate hemispinous processes of Amargasaurus cazaui (Dinosauria: Sauropoda): Implications for soft tissue reconstruction and functional significance. J Anat 2022; 240:1005-1019. [PMID: 35332552 PMCID: PMC9119615 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Revised: 02/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Dicraeosaurid sauropods are iconically characterized by the presence of elongate hemispinous processes in presacral vertebrae. These hemispinous processes can show an extreme degree of elongation, such as in the Argentinean forms Amargasaurus cazaui, Pilmatueia faundezi and Bajadasaurus pronuspinax. These hyperelongated hemispinous processes have been variably interpreted as a support structure for a padded crest/sail as a display, a bison-like hump or as the internal osseous cores of cervical horns. With the purpose to test these hypotheses, here we analyze, for the first time, the external morphology, internal microanatomy and bone microstructure of the hemispinous processes from the holotype of Amargasaurus, in addition to a second dicraeosaurid indet. (also from the La Amarga Formatin; Lower Cretaceous, Argentina). Transverse thin-sections sampled from the proximal, mid and distal portions of both cervical and dorsal hemispinous processes reveal that the cortical bone is formed by highly vascularized fibrolamellar bone interrupted with cyclical growth marks. Obliquely oriented Sharpey's fibres are mostly located in the medial and lateral portions of the cortex. Secondary remodelling is evidenced by the presence of abundant secondary osteons irregularly distributed within the cortex. Both anatomical and histological evidence does not support the presence of a keratinized sheath (i.e. horn) covering the hyperelongated hemispinous processes of Amargasaurus, and either, using a parsimonious criterium, in other dicraeosaurids with similar vertebral morphology. The spatial distribution and relative orientation of the Sharpey's fibres suggest the presence of an important system of interspinous ligaments that possibly connect successive hemispinous processes in Amargasaurus. These ligaments were distributed along the entirety of the hemispinous processes. The differential distribution of secondary osteons indicates that the cervical hemispinous processes of Amargasaurus were subjected to mechanical forces that generated higher compression strain on the anterior side of the elements. Current data support the hypothesis for the presence of a 'cervical sail' in Amargasaurus and other dicraeosaurids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio A. Cerda
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)Argentina
- Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y GeologíaUniversidad Nacional de Río NegroArgentina
- Museo Carlos AmeghinoCipollettiRío NegroArgentina
| | - Fernando E. Novas
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)Argentina
- Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los VertebradosMuseo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’Buenos AiresArgentina
| | - José Luis Carballido
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)Argentina
- Museo Paleontológico Egidio FeruglioTrelewArgentina
| | - Leonardo Salgado
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)Argentina
- Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y GeologíaUniversidad Nacional de Río NegroArgentina
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The first occurrence of an avian-style respiratory infection in a non-avian dinosaur. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1954. [PMID: 35145134 PMCID: PMC8831536 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05761-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Other than repaired fractures, osteoarthritis, and periosteal reaction, the vertebrate fossil record has limited evidence of non-osseous diseases. This difficulty in paleontological diagnoses stems from (1) the inability to conduct medical testing, (2) soft-tissue pathologic structures are less likely to be preserved, and (3) many osseous lesions are not diagnostically specific. However, here reported for the first time is an avian-style respiratory disorder in a non-avian dinosaur. This sauropod presents irregular bony pathologic structures stemming from the pneumatic features in the cervical vertebrae. As sauropods show well-understood osteological correlates indicating that respiratory tissues were incorporated into the post-cranial skeleton, and thus likely had an ‘avian-style’ form of respiration, it is most parsimonious to identify these pathologic structures as stemming from a respiratory infection. Although several extant avian infections produce comparable symptoms, the most parsimonious is airsacculitis with associated osteomyelitis. From actinobacterial to fungal in origin, airsacculitis is an extremely prevalent respiratory disorder in birds today. While we cannot pinpoint the specific infectious agent that caused the airsacculitis, this diagnosis establishes the first fossil record of this disease. Additionally, it allows us increased insight into the medical disorders of dinosaurs from a phylogenetic perspective and understanding what maladies plagued the “fearfully great lizards”.
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