Did T-rex succumb to common bird disease?

Washington, Sep 30 (IANS) Tyrannosaurus rex, popularised by the Hollywood film “The Jurassic Park”, suffered from a potentially fatal infectious disease, similar to one that occurs in living birds, known as trichomonosis. Tell-tale symptoms of trichomonosis include swellings and holes in the back of the lower jaw. Some of the world’s most famous T-rex specimens, such as ‘Sue’ at the Field Museum in Chicago, and the holotype specimen at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh have holes like these in their lower jaw.

Birds of prey are particularly susceptible to trichomonosis if they eat infected pigeons. Adult birds can then pass the disease to their nestlings through beak-to-beak contact. “The holes in tyrannosaur jaws occur in exactly the same place as in modern birds with trichomonosis.

The shape of the holes and the way that they merge into the surrounding bone is very similar in both animals,” said Ewan Wolff, paleontologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison ( ... more.

Washington, Sep 30 (IANS) Tyrannosaurus rex, popularised by the Hollywood film “The Jurassic Park”, suffered from a potentially fatal infectious disease, similar to one that occurs in living birds, known as trichomonosis. Tell-tale symptoms of trichomonosis include swellings and holes in the back of the lower jaw. Some of the world’s most famous T-rex specimens, such as ‘Sue’ at the Field Museum in Chicago, and the holotype specimen at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh have holes like these in their lower jaw.

Birds of prey are particularly susceptible to trichomonosis if they eat infected pigeons. Adult birds can then pass the disease to their nestlings through beak-to-beak contact. €œThe holes in tyrannosaur jaws occur in exactly the same place as in modern birds with trichomonosis.

The shape of the holes and the way that they merge into the surrounding bone is very similar in both animals,” said Ewan Wolff, paleontologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison ( ... more.

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