What diseases did dinosaurs suffer from?

Which insects that lived more than 100 million years ago carried malaria and did dinosaurs have vision problems

In recent decades, paleontologists have uncovered a number of previously unknown facts about dinosaurs. The discoveries that scientists keep making with the help of modern technologies are constantly changing our ideas about these remarkable creatures.

Examples in this regard are several studies that shed more light on the health problems of dinosaurs. Their results show that some of the diseases from which they suffered not only exist to this day, but even affect people.

Some experts suggest that the diseases in question became one of the main reasons for the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Cancer

Nearly 20 years ago, a team of scientists led by Bruce Rothschild of the University of Medicine in Rootstown, Ohio, made a surprising discovery – dinosaurs suffered from cancers. The experts examined about 10,000 fossils stored in several museums in the United States and Canada. They belonged to different species – tyrannosaurs, stegosaurs, triceratops, etc. However, only in the fossils of 29 of the 97 examined hadrosaurs were traces of tumor formations found. Scientists are still not sure why only this species was affected by the deadly disease. According to the most popular theory, the cause lies in some dangerous chemicals in the conifers that the animals in question were eating.

However, another study revealed that it wasn’t just hadrosaurs that suffered from cancers. In 1989, fossils of a horned dinosaur called centrosaurus were found in the Canadian province of Alberta. Scientists immediately noticed that one of the bones had a very unusual shape. At first they assumed it was a healed fracture. Years later, the fossil in question was subjected to a detailed analysis, as a result of which it became clear that the distortion was due to osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer. The tumor was massive, “bigger than an apple,” noted paleontologist David Evans of the Royal Museums in Toronto.

Malaria

There is considerable evidence that malaria is one of the most ancient diseases. It was carried by insects that lived more than 100 million years ago. It is a question of a non-existent species of blood-sucking midges that inhabited riverside areas.

Some researchers, including entomologist George Poyner Jr. of the University of Oregon, even believe that malaria contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

However, there is still no conclusive evidence to support this claim. To this day, there is no vaccine that provides complete protection against the disease. Poyner believes that analyzing the history of malaria in detail can help tackle this problem and save many lives.

Dandruff

A feathered dinosaur that lived about 125 million years ago is the oldest creature to have dandruff. Scientists note that the animal in question is a microraptor – a small predator about the size of a raven.

Traces of dander were later seen in Bepiosaurus and Sinornithosaurus fossils (representatives of these species were about twice the size of microraptors). The discovery itself was made by chance, within the framework of researching an important evolutionary puzzle – whether feathered dinosaurs had soft and delicate skin like modern birds or something similar to the horned “armor” of lizards.

“The plumage in fossils is almost identical to that of modern birds. A spiral twist of the individual fibers is even visible,” notes Dr. Maria McNamara, who is one of the authors of the study.

Just like humans, the dander of feathered dinosaurs is made up of tough cells called corneocytes. It is important to note that in birds it is formed when their skin is sloughed, as a result of which its dead upper layer falls off. This feature is thought to have first appeared during the Jurassic period.

“It is very exciting to trace how the skin of early birds and feathered dinosaurs evolved rapidly in response to the appearance of feathers,” adds Dr McNamara.

Cataract

In some of his scientific works, the ophthalmologist Lawrence Croft suggested that dinosaurs suffered massively from cataracts (an eye disease, also called “curtain of the eye”, which is a darkening of the natural lens). According to him, many of them became completely blind and this became one of the main reasons for their disappearance. Croft also points out that the high levels of ultraviolet radiation coming from the Sun not only damaged the dinosaurs’ eyes, but also led to catastrophic climate change. At the same time, mammals managed to cope with this problem, since they hunted mostly at night.

Most paleontologists disagree with Croft’s theory and emphasize that there is no evidence to support it. According to them, if the ultraviolet radiation was really strong, over time the dinosaurs would have developed some kind of defense mechanism to protect themselves from it.

Tuberculosis and pneumonia

Scientists believe that the two diseases in question are even older than the dinosaurs. There is evidence that a representative of the species Proneusticosasiacus – a marine reptile that lived about 245 million years ago – suffered from a lung disease. The discovery was made after its fossils were subjected to X-ray analysis. The results of the study showed that some of the reptile’s ribs were of an unusual shape. At first, scientists assumed that these distortions were caused by injuries, fungi or tumor formations, but then it turned out that they were actually pneumonia or extrapulmonary tuberculosis.

Experts also found that the prehistoric reptile suffered from the disease for months or even years before it died. Some scientists, in turn, believe that the examined bones are actually from another species – Cymatosaurus. A curious detail is that both Proneusticosasiacus and Cymatosaurus are closely related to nothosaurs – marine reptiles that lived and bred on land but hunted in the water, like seals (coincidentally or not, these mammals were relatively prone to tuberculosis) .

Photo: The Microraptor was one of the smallest dinosaurs & lived during the early Cretaceous. They measured 70cm long. (Credit Emily Willoughby)