As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
A ream of paleontologists at the University of Zurich reports a persistent case of osteomyelitis (bone tissue infection) in Plateosaurus trossingensisamong the earliest found and best-known dinosaurs from the Late Triassic of Europe.
Diagram of the Plateosaurus trossingensis skeleton as part of the Teoplati exhibition at the Natural History Museum of the University of Zurich. Image credit: Dupuis et aldoi: 10.1186/ s13358-025-00368-3.
Plateosaurus trossingensis resided in Europe throughout the Late Triassic date, some 220 million years back.
The ancient animal was almost 8 m(26 feet)long and strolled on its 2 hind limbs.
In brand-new research study, University of Zurich paleontologist Jordan Bestwick and coworkers took a look at a skeleton of Plateosaurus trossingensis from the Klettgau Formation of Frick, Switzerland.
They discovered proof for serious osteomyelitis in the dinosaur’s best shoulder and arm.
“Osteomyelitis impacts numerous living animals, consisting of mammals such as human beings, along with birds and reptiles,” Dr. Bestwick stated.
“This illness is understood to have actually impacted numerous various dinosaur groups, consisting of sauropods, so we had access to a variety of specimens to compare our Plateosaurus with.”
“The impacted bones in the shoulder and arm have uncommonly rough internal and external textures, transformed shapes, and are even merged together– signs that are broadly normal of osteomyelitis.”
According to the scientists, their discovery is remarkable not just because, at around 220 million years of ages, it is the presently earliest reported case of osteomyelitis in a dinosaur, however the size of the contaminated location was uncommonly big.
“Previous research studies of osteomyelitis in dinosaurs report localized locations of infection, such as toe bones or a number of nearby bones in the spinal column,” Dr. Bestwick stated.
“Having a whole contaminated shoulder and arm is really uncommon.”
“Although we do not understand what at first triggered the infection, the animal most likely struggled with this illness for a significant part of its life, possible rendering its best arm worthless.”
The discovery is reported in a paper released in the Swiss Journal of Palaeontology
_____
S.F.J. Dupuis et al2025. Osteology and histology of a Plateosaurus trossingensis (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Upper Triassic of Switzerland with a sophisticated persistent pathology. Swiss J Palaeontol 144, 27; doi: 10.1186/ s13358-025-00368-3
Learn more
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
