Blood parasites and acute osteomyelitis in a non-avian dinosaur (Sauropoda, Titanosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous Adamantina Formation, Bauru Basin, Southeast Brazil

Aureliano, Tito; Nascimento, Carolina Santa Isabel; Fernandes, Marcelo Adorna; Ricardi-Branco, Frésia; Ghilardi, Aline Marcele

doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104672

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…At least three specimens of this new taxon are known from the same stratum, and detailed results and discussion out of the scope of this paper will be published separately along the description of this new taxon. One of the specimens, also senile, showed pathologies associated with acute osteomyelitis and preserved phosphatized blood parasites inside the vascular canals 31 . However, the specimen we analyze in this research showed signs of neither pathologies nor parasitization.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exquisite air sac histological traces in a hyperpneumatized nanoid sauropod dinosaur from South America

Aureliano

Ghilardi

Navarro

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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This study reports the occurrence of pneumosteum (osteohistological structure related to an avian-like air sac system) in a nanoid (5.7-m-long) saltasaurid titanosaur from Upper Cretaceous Brazil. We corroborate the hypothesis of the presence of an air sac system in titanosaurians based upon vertebral features identified through external observation and computed tomography. This is the fifth non-avian dinosaur taxon in which histological traces of air sacs have been found. We provided a detailed description of pneumatic structures from external osteology and CT scan data as a parameter for comparison with other taxa. The camellate pattern found in the vertebral centrum (ce) of this taxon and other titanosaurs shows distinct architectures. This might indicate whether cervical or lung diverticula pneumatized different elements. A cotylar internal plate of bone tissue sustains radial camellae (rad) in a condition similar to Alamosaurus and Saltasaurus. Moreover, circumferential chambers (cc) near the cotyle might be an example of convergence between diplodocoids and titanosaurs. Finally, we also register for the first time pneumatic foramina (fo) and fossae connecting camellate structures inside the neural canal in Titanosauria and the second published case in non-avian dinosaurs. The extreme pneumaticity observed in this nanoid titanosaur contrasts with previous assumptions that this feature correlates with the evolution of gigantic sizes in sauropodomorphs. This study reinforces that even small-bodied sauropod clades could present a hyperpneumatized postcranial skeleton, a character inherited from their large-bodied ancestors.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exquisite air sac histological traces in a hyperpneumatized nanoid sauropod dinosaur from South America

Aureliano

Ghilardi

Navarro

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…In terms of non-avian dinosaurs, our record of paleopathology is limited. What we do know is that disorders such as trauma 23 , 30 , 31 , various forms of arthritis (such as spondyloarthropathy; 32 , neoplasia 32 – 34 , osteomyelitis 32 , vascular parasites 35 , and even transmissible diseases (such as trichomonosis 27 ) were present.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The first occurrence of an avian-style respiratory infection in a non-avian dinosaur

Woodruff

Wolff

Wedel

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Other than repaired fractures, osteoarthritis, and periosteal reaction, the vertebrate fossil record has limited evidence of non-osseous diseases. This difficulty in paleontological diagnoses stems from (1) the inability to conduct medical testing, (2) soft-tissue pathologic structures are less likely to be preserved, and (3) many osseous lesions are not diagnostically specific. However, here reported for the first time is an avian-style respiratory disorder in a non-avian dinosaur. This sauropod presents irregular bony pathologic structures stemming from the pneumatic features in the cervical vertebrae. As sauropods show well-understood osteological correlates indicating that respiratory tissues were incorporated into the post-cranial skeleton, and thus likely had an ‘avian-style’ form of respiration, it is most parsimonious to identify these pathologic structures as stemming from a respiratory infection. Although several extant avian infections produce comparable symptoms, the most parsimonious is airsacculitis with associated osteomyelitis. From actinobacterial to fungal in origin, airsacculitis is an extremely prevalent respiratory disorder in birds today. While we cannot pinpoint the specific infectious agent that caused the airsacculitis, this diagnosis establishes the first fossil record of this disease. Additionally, it allows us increased insight into the medical disorders of dinosaurs from a phylogenetic perspective and understanding what maladies plagued the “fearfully great lizards”.

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“…Por intermédio dos fósseis, paleontólogos buscam entender como foram os organismos pretéritos e como estes interagiam entre si e com o meio ambiente. Em seus primórdios, a Paleontologia consistia em, principalmente, descrever, identificar e classificar os fósseis encontrados, mas, nos últimos anos, novas técnicas de análise, como a microtomografia, a análise de isótopos estáveis ou a Paleohistologia (e.g., Maldanis et al, 2016, Pansani et al, 2019, Aureliano et al, 2021, têm surgido e sido utilizadas para revelar cada vez mais detalhes sobre a Biologia e Ecologia dos seres extintos (Sayão & Bantim, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

“…As pesquisas em Paleontologia no Brasil vêm se destacando muito ao longo das últimas décadas. Inúmeros trabalhos têm sido publicados em revistas internacionais de alto impacto (i.e., periódicos científicos com elevado índice de citações na sua área), além de vários estudos terem se tornado destaques em mídias populares nacionais e internacionais, como o primeiro coração fossilizado (Maldanis et al, 2016, Greshko, 2016; os mais antigos registros de parasitismo por vermes da família das tênias (Dentzien-dias et al, 2013, Black, 2013; os primeiros parasitas sanguíneos preservados em um osso de um dinossauro (Aureliano et al, 2021, Langlois, 2020); e a descrição de diversos fósseis importantes para a compreensão da evolução de diferentes grupos de organismos (e.g., Zaher et al, 2011, Pinheiro et al, 2016, Zaher et al, 2020.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

A Paleontologia na educação básica brasileira

Júnior

Ghilardi²,

Azevedo³

et al. 2022

Terrae Didat.

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A Paleontologia tem obtido destaque no cenário nacional e internacional nas últimas décadas. O Brasil tornou-se polo importante de pesquisas na área e tem contribuído significativamente para o conhecimento acerca de nosso passado. Entretanto, conteúdos sobre Paleontologia geralmente não são incluídos e trabalhados nas salas de aula brasileira da Educação Básica, por não constarem nos documentos oficiais regulatórios. Este trabalho buscou analisar trabalhos publicados nos últimos dezesseis anos sobre a inclusão da Paleontologia no Ensino Básico do Brasil, além de verificar de que forma os pesquisadores sugerem a inclusão do tema no currículo escolar. Foram analisados vinte trabalhos cujo objetivo era investigar ou sugerir atividades sobre Paleontologia em salas de aulas de diferentes níveis do Ensino Básico. Encontrou-se que existem poucos trabalhos com sugestões de atividades de ensino sobre Paleontologia e que essas foram pensadas, principalmente, para as aulas de Ciências e Biologia, deixando de lado a potencialidade de aplicação em outras disciplinas.

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Blood parasites and acute osteomyelitis in a non-avian dinosaur (Sauropoda, Titanosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous Adamantina Formation, Bauru Basin, Southeast Brazil

Cited by 19 publications

References 37 publications

Exquisite air sac histological traces in a hyperpneumatized nanoid sauropod dinosaur from South America

Exquisite air sac histological traces in a hyperpneumatized nanoid sauropod dinosaur from South America

The first occurrence of an avian-style respiratory infection in a non-avian dinosaur

A Paleontologia na educação básica brasileira

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