6 Diseases that Affected Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles that were wiped from the face of this planet, millions of years ago. The fossil record of these creatures reveals that they can be divided into two categories (avian and non-avian dinosaurs), on the basis of their physical characteristics. Despite the fact that dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years, the diseases that ravaged them are still around in today’s world. Ranging from cancer to intestinal worms, following is a list of diseases that affected the dinosaur population.

Osteoarthritis

Caudipteryx, a small flying dinosaur about the size of a peacock, also suffered from the most common type of arthritis. It is the oldest creature (130 million years ago) known to have felt the pain of worn-out bones. Whenever the slippery cartilage at the end of the bones wears out, both the joints rub against each other and this friction can lead to a sharp pain as the bones keep chafing each other. Researchers used the ankle bones of different flying dinosaurs for this discovery while a lot of modern birds are also known to suffer from osteoarthritis.

Tuberculosis and Pneumonia

You may find it hard to believe but both of these disastrous lung diseases are nearly 250 million years old. A team of researchers performed an X-ray analysis of a Proneusticosasiacus fossil to discover some abnormalities with its ribs. Detailed examination of the fossil revealed that Pott’s disease (fatal kind of tuberculosis) and pneumonia were responsible for the damage. To know more about Pott’s disease, visit this link.

According to the report of this research, the dinosaur suffered from the disease for months or even years before losing the battle, ultimately. On the other hand, another group of scientists believes that the observed fossil belonged to another class of dinosaurs called Cymatosaurus.    

Malaria

Malaria is one of the fatal diseases that has been around since the time of dinosaurs. According to George Poinar Jr. (Entomologist from the Oregon State University), that version of malaria, called Paleohaemoproteus Burmacis, was powerful enough to kill a dinosaur but it is highly unlikely that it played any substantial role in the extinction of the creature. Scientists believe that small flying insects (not mosquitoes) that were found in the riverine areas were responsible for transmitting this disease during those times. In addition to that, horseflies and sand are also among the suspects that could have transmitted malaria between dinosaurs.

Dandruff

Scientists found evidence of dandruff in 3 different species of dinosaurs (Beipiaosaurus, Microraptor, and Sinornithosaurus). This discovery was quite coincidental as the researchers were actually trying to figure out the pattern of feather-shedding in dinosaurs. During this research, they observed that some parts of the fossils contained corneocytes. These chemicals are formed on human skin following the appearance of dandruff. As far as the shedding of feathers was concerned, it was observed that dinosaurs are pretty much similar to modern-day birds (shed feathers in small bits), despite the differences in body sizes.

Intestinal Worms

Parasitic worms were quite common among dinosaurs and that’s the reason which urged the researchers to look for intestinal worms in these ancient animals. Although it is impossible to get evidence of any parasitic worm in dinosaur fossils, the poop fossils (coprolites) of dinosaurs helped the researchers with this discovery. Basically, coprolites can possibly contain cyst samples or worm eggs that can prove extremely handy for these kinds of discoveries. The first instance of finding evidence of intestinal worms in dinosaurs was reported in 2006 when a couple of researchers (Arthur Boucot and George Poinar) analyzed the poop fossils of an unidentified carnivorous dinosaur. Alongside nematode and trematode worms, they also discovered a protozoan which is believed to be Entamoeba.     

Cancer

Cancer is probably the most dangerous disease, affecting millions of people around the world. It might seem a bit surprising but dinosaurs also had their fair share of this fatal disease. Bruce Rothschild, a Researcher at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine who came up with this discovery, led a team of researchers which analyzed 10,000 dinosaur fossils with an X-ray machine. The results of their experiment showed that 29 (out of 97) hadrosaur bones had cancerous tumors. The detailed analysis of the data revealed that these tumors are quite similar to the cancerous cells in humans.