How the dinosaurs caught cold

February 10, 2022 - Evidence of a respiratory infection in the fossilised remains of a young diplodocid – a large, long-necked herbivorous sauropod – increases our understanding of the illnesses that affected dinosaurs.

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Writing in the prestigious journal Nature, palaeontologist Cary Woodruff and colleagues say they examined three bones from an specimen of diplodocid, known as MOR 7029, discovered in the U.S. state of Montana in 1990, which dates back to the Late Jurassic Period (150 million years ago).

Scientists identified bony protrusions on the vertebra where the bone was attached to air-filled structures, known as air sacs. They believed the irregular protrusions formed in response to a fungal infection similar to aspergillosis – a common respiratory illness in birds and reptiles.

Palaeontologists suggest that if MOR 7029 had been infected with aspergillosis, it may have experienced flu or pneumonia-like symptoms such as weight loss, coughing, fever and breathing difficulties. Aspergillosis may have even led to his death.