palaeopathology

[theropod]

I guess there’s no description needed. This partially overlaps with what I’ve previously posted on another thread, but that one didn’t really seem appropriate for fossils.


I’ll start with the above (click the images to enlarge them) screenshots from planet dinosaur, showing the Spinosaurus neural arch that alledgedly had its spine broken off by a bite. Does anyone know whether this is described in detail anywhere? Is there any evidence of a bite wound, or is this even a real pathology or post-mortem damage?

[creature386]

I have quite a lot:

Pathological bones have been identified in two individuals of Anzu: a proximal pedal phalanx (possibly phalanx IV-1) of CM 78000 and the dorsal rib of MRF 319. Because pathological features may provide insights into the paleobiology of extinct taxa [68], we briefly comment on these here. The phalanx exhibits a large bony exostosis on the dorsal aspect of its distal articular surface. There are erosional pits on this articular surface, probably representing subchondral bone cysts resulting from arthritic changes. This pathology likely arose from a regional trauma (e.g., a tendon avulsion) rather than an infection, due to the limited scope of the damage (D. Malleske, pers. comm.); however, a histological analysis is required for a more definitive diagnosis. The dorsal rib of MRF 319 bears an enlarged, asymmetrical callus near the distal end of the element (Figures 5P, 5Q), indicating that this individual may have experienced a broken and healed rib.

Lamanna MC, Sues H-D, Schachner ER, Lyson TR (2014) A New Large-Bodied Oviraptorosaurian Theropod Dinosaur from the Latest Cretaceous of Western North America. PLoS ONE 9(3): e92022. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0092022


www.calvertmarinemuseum.com/cmmfc/newsletter/CMMFC_Newsletter_2004-04.pdf

There is little osteological evidence of non-lethal predation events in the archaeological or vertebrate paleontological record. A small section of Pliocene cetacean rib collected from the Yorktown Formation within the PCS Phosphate Mine (formerly Lee Creek Mine), Aurora, North Carolina, U.S.A., shows evidence of this kind of trophic interaction. In this case study, we offer a diagnosis of bone traumatic pathology in which three bone-forming lesions on the partial rib are interpreted as the reaction to a bite inflicted by a macro- predator, the first such report from a marine environment. In addition to the three well-defined lesions, a thin layer of woven bone covers much of the remaining cortical bone. The combination of the three bone-forming lesions and the thin layer of woven bone suggest the presence of an inflammatory process almost certainly caused by infection secondary to the trauma.

Kallay et al. Bone Reactions on a Pliocene Cetacean Rib Indicate Short-Term Survival of Predation Event

In living archosaurs (crocodiles and birds), pathologic eggs and eggshells appear as a consequence of disturbance in biological and/or environmental conditions. Because eggshell is a physiologically controlled biomineralized tissue, a prolonged retention of the egg within the oviduct may produce several irregularities in the eggshell structure (Hirsch, 2001). Dinosaur oological record provides several examples of pathological eggshells, having been recognized in ornithopod, sauropod and non-avian theropod eggs (Zelenitsky & Hills, 1997; Zhao et al., 2001; Bravo et al., 2005; Jackson & Schmitt, 2008). Among all pathologic oological types, the most common and well known phenomenon is the multilayered eggshell, but other types of abnormalities have also been recognized (Jackson & Schmitt, 2008). An accurate evaluation of the purported pathologic remains is essential for avoiding misinterpretation (Hirsch, 2001; Grellet-Tinner et al., 2010).

Sellés, A. G. and Vila, B. Laying under stressful conditions: temporal occurrence of pathologic sauropod eggshells in the Late Cretaceous of northeastern Iberian Peninsula

Few cranial pathologies have been described in chasmosaurines outside of Triceratops (exclud- ing squamosal fenestrae, of dubious origin as men- tioned above), but those that have been are consistent with horn locking models discussed above. For instance, Torosaurus specimen MPM VP8149 displays a lesion on the medio-rostral mar- gin of the left squamosal (Marshall and Barretto 2001), a location consistent with all three of the hypothetical horn locking positions. Diceratops specimen USNM 2412 displays an area of cal- loused bone on the left squamosal, also suggest- ing horn-induced injury. Careful study of other chasmosaurine specimens may show additional evidence of cranial pathology.

Farke, Andrew, A. 2004. Horn Use in Triceratops (Dinosauria: Ceratopsidae): Testing Behavioral Hypotheses Using Scale Models. Palaeontologia Electronica 7(1):10p, 3MB;

[Deleted]

Oct 4, 2014 14:51:24 GMT 5 theropod said:

I’ll start with the above (click the images to enlarge them) screenshots from planet dinosaur, showing the Spinosaurus neural arch that alledgedly had its spine broken off by a bite. Does anyone know whether this is described in detail anywhere? Is there any evidence of a bite wound, or is this even a real pathology or post-mortem damage?

Sorry, no description for it yet.

Here's another bitten Spinosaurus spine though, it's from the holotype this time.



Spine 4b is the one with the tooth.

The interesting thing about that Morrocan spine and the bitten holotype spine is that they seem to be evidence against a full skin sail on Spinosaurus, the bites are below the striated area, and a scavenger/predator wouldn't really take bites out of skin-and-bone areas since it wouldn't be a very good place to bite due to lack of flesh and vitals(for predators) and for nutritional reasons(a low-vascularization skin sail wouldn't have much to offer in terms of nutrition due to the low amount of food).

[theropod]

Is that really a pathology, not just some fragment that got stuck on it as a result of taphonomic processes? That seems likely considering the spine is downright curly from deformation, including a depression at the height of that small
I’ve looked for it in the description, Stromer would certainly have noticed any pathologies that easily visible (and illustrated by himself) and indeed he notes one, but it’s on the dentary:

Am rechten Aste ist außen neben der 5. Alveole eine kleine pathologische Knochenverdickung vorhanden, wohl als Folge einer verheilten Verletzung.

Translating to "On the left ramus, laterally next to the 5th alveolus there is a small pathological thickening of bone, likely the consequence of a healed injury."

---

Reference:
Stromer, Ernst: Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens. 11. Wirbeltier-Reste der Baharije-Stufe (unterstes Cenoman). 3. Das Original des Theropoden Spinosaurus aegyptiacus nov. gen., nov. sp.. Abhandlungen der Königlich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-physikalische Klasse, Vol. 28 (1915); 3; pp. 1-32

[Deleted]

Oct 4, 2014 20:04:16 GMT 5 theropod said:

Is that really a pathology, not just some fragment that got stuck on it as a result of taphonomic processes? That seems likely considering the spine is downward curly from deformation, including a depression at the height of that small
I’ve looked for it in the description, Stromer would certainly have noticed any pathologies that easily visible (and illustrated by himself) and indeed he notes one, but it’s on the dentary:

Am rechten Aste ist außen neben der 5. Alveole eine kleine pathologische Knochenverdickung vorhanden, wohl als Folge einer verheilten Verletzung.

Translating to "On the left ramus, laterally next to the 5th alveolus there is a small pathological thickening of bone, likely the consequence of a healed injury."

---

Reference:
Stromer, Ernst: Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens. 11. Wirbeltier-Reste der Baharije-Stufe (unterstes Cenoman). 3. Das Original des Theropoden Spinosaurus aegyptiacus nov. gen., nov. sp.. Abhandlungen der Königlich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-physikalische Klasse, Vol. 28 (1915); 3; pp. 1-32

The posterior/anterior view of 4b(4a) shows a swelling at the location of the tooth/fragment, a swelling which looks really similar to that of a healed tooth mark.

Also, it seems that the severe bending is roughly at the location where the striae would be(the distorted part occupies around a third of the spine), while below it, the spine is pretty straight. Damage from the same attack? Possible, but we may never know.

[theropod]

Stromer 1915:

Sieben weitere Wirbel c-i sind durch Verlust mancher Teile und durch Verdrückung
mehr oder weniger beschädigt, besonders an ihren Diapophysen. Speziell g (Taf. 11,
Fig. 4 a , b, C, d) ist in dieser Beziehung instruktiv, denn sein Neuralbogen ist auf dem
hier unverdrückten Körper nach hinten etwas oben verschoben, in die Mitte des Vorder-
randes seines Processus spinosus ist ein Teil des Hinterrandes des Wirbelkörpers i (Taf. II,
Fig. 6) eingepreßt und der obere Teil des Proc. spinosus ist transversal wellig verbogen.

that is:
"A further seven vertebrae c-i are more or less damaged due to loss of some parts or deformation, particularly their diapophyses. Especially g (Plate 11, Figures A a, b, c, d) is instructive in this regard, since its neural arch is somewhat displaced caudally on the, here-undeformed centrum, in the middle of the anterior border of its Processus spinosus a part of the posterior rim of centrum i (Plate II, Figure 6) is pressed in and the dorsal part is wavily bent transversely."
There is no note of a pathology, but it seems that fragment is part of another vertebra’s centrum.
I agree that the bending is the result of taphonomy, it’s too smooth to be the result of an attack. And I think the same holds true for what you call swelling–I don’t think it is, I think it’s deformation caused by fossilising together with the overlying fragment being pressed into it.

[Deleted]

Oct 4, 2014 20:58:45 GMT 5 theropod said:

Stromer 1915:

Sieben weitere Wirbel c-i sind durch Verlust mancher Teile und durch Verdrückung
mehr oder weniger beschädigt, besonders an ihren Diapophysen. Speziell g (Taf. 11,
Fig. 4 a , b, C, d) ist in dieser Beziehung instruktiv, denn sein Neuralbogen ist auf dem
hier unverdrückten Körper nach hinten etwas oben verschoben, in die Mitte des Vorder-
randes seines Processus spinosus ist ein Teil des Hinterrandes des Wirbelkörpers i (Taf. II,
Fig. 6) eingepreßt und der obere Teil des Proc. spinosus ist transversal wellig verbogen.

that is:
"A further seven vertebrae c-i are more or less damaged due to loss of some parts or deformation, particularly their diapophyses. Especially g (Plate 11, Figures A a, b, c, d) is instructive in this regard, since its neural arch is somewhat displaced caudally on the, here-undeformed centrum, in the middle of the anterior border of its Processus spinosus a part of the posterior rim of centrum i (Plate II, Figure 6) is pressed in and the dorsal part is wavily bent transversely."
There is no note of a pathology, but it seems that fragment is part of another vertebra’s centrum.
I agree that the bending is the result of taphonomy, it’s too smooth to be the result of an attack. And I think the same holds true for what you call swelling–I don’t think it is, I think it’s deformation caused by fossilising together with the overlying fragment being pressed into it.

Oh.

Looks like interpretations of this kind of thing can be somewhat off if you don't have the source paper!  And as a non-german speaker, I wouldn't be able to really use if even if I had it.

[theropod]

There’s a translation (although sometimes a little imprecise) available on paleoglot→: www.paleoglot.org/files/Stromer_15.doc
Just an annoying doc-file, but you should have no trouble reading it.

The original is here (set to the start of the relevant issue, i.e. page 93 of the volume): www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/124817#page/93/mode/1up

[Derdadort]

You're maybe also interested in this.
Xing et al. (2013), "Tooth loss and alveolar remodeling in Sinosaurus triassicus (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Lower Jurassic strata of the Lufeng Basin, China"

Pathological or traumatic loss of teeth often results in the resorption and remodeling of the affected alveoli in mammals. However,
instances of alveolar remodeling in reptiles are rare. A remodeled alveolus in the maxilla of the Chinese theropod Sinosaurus
(Lower Jurassic Lower Lufeng Formation) is the first confirmed example of such dental pathology in a dinosaur. Given the known
relationship between feeding behavior and tooth damage in theropods (teeth with spalled enamel, tooth crowns embedded in bone)
and the absence of dentary, maxillary, and premaxillary osteomyelitis, traumatic loss of a tooth is most likely the cause of alveolar
remodeling. Based on the extent of remodeling, the injury and subsequent tooth loss were non–fatal in this individual.

link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11434-013-5765-7

[theropod]

That’s only the second open access article that I’ve ever seen on springer!
Thanks, great find!

Now, I’m gonna post the inevitable "Labrosaurus ferox":

Somewhat related to the above, it shows extensive bone remodeling in the anterior dentary, as well as an odd shape of the posterior end, both probably attributable to traumatic loss of teeth and fractures.

Hay 1908, cited in Gilmore 1920 said:

In the lower jaw of L. ferox there were plainly 12 teeth. The first was placed 63 mm. behind the
tip of the jaw, between which and the tooth there is a deep notch.
The posterior part of the dentary is bent downward in an extraordinary way, somewhat like that of a fringilline bird. These peculiarities
show that this species belongs to a family entirely distinct from that typified by Allosaurus.

Gilmore was the first to note that the strange shape of the dentary is likely the result of injuries:

Gilmore 1920 said:

Now, a suggestion regarding the type of Labrosaurus ferox. The deep notch
in the edentulous part of the dentary and the decided bending down of the pos-
terior portion of the bone are features so entirely peculiar to anything known
among the Theropodous dinosauria, as to suggest that this dentary is abnormal
in these respects, and that it may have been produced through injury, though, to
be sure, the bone as now preserved shows no evidence of such malformation.

From here: archive.org/details/osteologyofcarni00gilm
Hay 1908: ia700703.us.archive.org/18/items/cbarchive_48073_oncertaingeneraandspeciesofcar1878/oncertaingeneraandspeciesofcar1878.pdf

[theropod]

Palaeopathological Survey of a Population of Mapusaurus (Theropoda: Carcharodontosauridae) from the Late Cretaceous Huincul Formation, Argentina
Paleoepidemiology (the study of disease and trauma in prehistoric populations) provides insight into the distribution of disease and can have implications for interpreting behavior in extinct organisms. A monospecific bonebed of the giant carcharodontosaurid Mapusaurus (minimum number of individuals = 9) from the Cañadón del Gato site, Neuquén Province, Argentina (Cenomanian) provides a rare opportunity to investigate disease within a single population of this important apex predator. Visual inspection of 176 skeletal elements belonging to a minimum of nine individuals yielded a small number of abnormalities on a cervical vertebra, two ribs, pedal phalanx, and an ilium. These are attributed to traumatic (two cases), infectious (two cases) and anomalous (one case) conditions in a minimum of one individual. The emerging picture for large theropod (abelisaurids, allosaurids, carcharodontosaurids, tyrannosaurids) populations suggests that 1) osseous abnormalities were relatively rare (7–19% of individuals) but consistently present, and 2) trauma was a leading factor in the frequency of pathological occurrences, evidence of an active, often perilous lifestyle.

www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0063409

[creature386]

This bulky tome forms practically an illustrated catalogue of all those specimens of fossil animals and ancient man which present evidence of injury or pathological changes, with some references to plant pathology. Such evidence is in the nature of things restricted, and it is obvious that while positive evidence may not yield much, little of value can be argued from the negative side. While there is evidence of bacterial and fungus activity among plants since the Devonian, bacterial infections among members of the animal kingdom are unknown before the late Paleozoic period.
The first half of the book is devoted to general remarks, fractures and deforming arthritides, the latter common among Pleistocene mammals. A reptile from the Permian of Texas-Dimetrodon-shows a fracture of the radius, while a Dinosaur which probably weighed close on 40 tons exhibitsa haemangioma of the caudal vertebrae. Spondylitis deformans is stated to have existed during the past 100 million years. We ought not to grumble to-day at a little muscular rheumatism. Caries was apparently rare in prehistoric animals, but there is some evidence of its occurrence and a three-toed horse of perhaps a million and a half years ago suffered from something very much resembling actinomycosis. Again, it is interesting to think that bacteria have been demonstrated in coprolites. What a noble ancestry has the B. coli!
Several species of tsetse fly occurred during the Oligocene, and it is interesting to speculate whether they may have harboured the precursor of T. brucei and thus caused a decimating plague among the ungulate population of a million years ago or more.
Coming to MAN himself, reference is made to the exostosis on the left femur of Pithecanthropus, to the signs of a fracture in the ulna of Neanderthal man, to the possibly pathological thickening of the Piltdown skull. Lastly, two chapters deal with the material from ancient Egypt made known to us by FOUQUET, RUFFER and ELLIOT SMITH, and from Peru. Spondylitis deformans was common 3, 000 years B.C., Pott's disease was found in a mummy of 1100 B.C., bilharziasis 1200 B.C., caries and pyorrhoea were not uncommon, and SHATTOCK demonstrated the presence of calcification of the aorta in the Pharaoh of the Hebrew exodus. Among the Precolumbian inhabitants of Peru osteitis was known and has been considered to be possibly of syphilitic origin. It seems just as likely that it was of framboesial origin in view of the fact that a skull of the same period shows the characteristic lesions of goundou.
Some of the well-known ancient Peruvian modelled water jars also bear witness to affections of tropical interest: one depicts the head of a man with goundou, another an achondroplasic dwarf with verruga peruviana, a third, South American leishmaniasis, and a fourth " Jiggers " of the soles of the feet.

www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/19262901971.html;jsessionid=071F5FFEC2C70EFA43A70C9DBE2C4000

[Godzillasaurus]

Haven't there been descriptions of carcharodontosaurus bite marks on spinosaurus' vertebrae?

Planet Dinosaur said that as well. And it also made a few other hypothetical claims that I non-hesitantly agreed with.

[Godzillasaurus]

So generally I would consider it a more valuable source than Monsters Resurrected, which has so many problems concerning spinosaurus that it is just silly (although there are factual elements that are clear as day, this does not outweigh the negatives)

[theropod]

This wasn’t intended to become a place to discuss the reliability of documentaries, you already made a thread that is appropriate for the subject. I posted the Spinosaurus vertebra alledgedly bitten in my very opening post. The thing is, Planet Dinosaur made us aware of it, but I have been unable to verify it. The same also goes for that partial Spinosaurus jaw with the embedded Onchopristis barb.
I do think that these are real fossils, but I’d like to find some sort of description, or at least mention, in a scientific source.