Coughing, labored breathing, nasal discharge, fever, and weight loss are all symptoms of a respiratory disease that infected a sauropod dinosaur nicknamed Dolly. Unusual growths in a sauropod’s fossilized neck bones suggest the animal suffered from infected air sacs around 145 million years ago.
Scientists have discovered the first evidence of a rare respiratory infection in the fossilized remains of a dinosaur that lived nearly 150 million years ago. Researchers examined the remains of an immature diplodocid – a long-necked herbivorous sauropod dinosaur-like ‘Brontosaurus’ – from the Late Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era. The dinosaur nicknamed ‘Dolly,’ discovered in southwest Montana, had evidence of an infection in the area of its neck vertebrae.
A team of researchers from across the country, led by University of New Mexico Research Assistant Professor Ewan Wolff, discovered the first evidence of a rare respiratory infection in the fossilized remains of a dinosaur that lived nearly 150 million years ago.
Researchers examined the remains of an immature diplodocid – a long-necked herbivorous sauropod dinosaur-like “Brontosaurus” – from the Late Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era. The “Dolly” dinosaur, discovered in southwest Montana, had evidence of an infection in the area of its neck vertebrae.
Not only does this fossil infection in Dolly help us trace the evolutionary history of respiratory-related diseases back in time, but it also gives us a better understanding of what kinds of diseases dinosaurs were susceptible to.
Cary Woodruff
The study, led by Cary Woodruff of the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum, discovered previously unseen abnormal bony protrusions with an unusual shape and texture. These protrusions were placed in areas of each bone that would have been penetrated by air sacs. Air sacs are non-oxygen exchanging parts of modern birds’ respiratory systems that are also found in dinosaurs. The air sacs would have eventually connected to “Dolly’s” lungs and formed part of the dinosaur’s complex respiratory system. CT imaging of the irregular protrusions revealed that they were made of abnormal bone, most likely formed in response to an infection.
One particular sauropod dinosaur must have been in a bad mood 145 million years ago. The Jurassic herbivore had a fever and coughs that shook its long, muscular neck, with mucus dripping from its nostrils. The disease may have been fatal; the disease wreaked such havoc on the dinosaur’s health that it left visible evidence in its fossilized bones. Paleontologists believe these strange remains are the first evidence of a dinosaur respiratory infection.
“We’ve all had these symptoms — coughing, difficulty breathing, fever — and here’s a 150-million-year-old dinosaur who probably felt as miserable as we do when we’re sick.” According to Woodruff.
These findings are significant, according to the researchers, because Dolly was thought to be a non-avian dinosaur, and sauropods, like Dolly, did not evolve into birds; only avian theropods did. The authors speculate that this respiratory infection was caused by a fungal infection similar to aspergillosis, a common respiratory illness that currently affects birds and reptiles and can lead to bone infections. This fossilized infection not only documents the first occurrence of such a respiratory infection in a dinosaur, but it also has important anatomical implications for the respiratory system of sauropod dinosaurs.
“Not only does this fossil infection in Dolly help us trace the evolutionary history of respiratory-related diseases back in time, but it also gives us a better understanding of what kinds of diseases dinosaurs were susceptible to,” Woodruff said.
“This would have been a remarkably sickly sauropod,” Wolff said. “We think of dinosaurs as big and tough, but they became ill. They suffered from respiratory illnesses similar to those seen in birds today, and in some cases, potentially fatal infections.”
The researchers believe that if Dolly had been infected with an aspergillosis-like respiratory infection, she would have experienced flu or pneumonia-like symptoms such as weight loss, coughing, fever, and breathing difficulties. Because aspergillosis can be fatal in birds if left untreated, a potentially similar infection in Dolly could have resulted in her death.
“We must continue to broaden our understanding of ancient diseases. If we look hard enough, we might be able to learn more about the evolution of immunity and infectious disease “Wolff explained. “When we collaborate across multiple specialties – veterinarians, anatomists, paleontologists, paleopathologists, and radiologists – we can get a more complete picture of ancient disease.”
