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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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13

Sore Throat May Have Axed T Rex

Trichomonosis still affects modern birds and makes eating almost impossible

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(Newser) – Tyrannosaurus rex could have been laid low not by a planetwide dinosaur holocaust or vicious infighting, but by a parasite that still affects modern birds. Researchers have taken a close look at lesions on T. rex fossils once presumed to be battle scars and concluded that they are the work of trichomonosis, a parasite that ravages a bird’s mouth and throat, making eating tricky. A similar infection could have starved the ancient carnivore to death.

Paleontologists had thought the holes in the T. rex’s jaws were injuries from battles between the dinosaurs, but the new research suggests they resemble trichomonosis lesions much more than puncture wounds. Evidence of the disease is found only in T. rex fossils, notes LiveScience.

The head of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The head of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pa.   (AP Photo)
The skull of a Tyrannosaurus rex.
The skull of a Tyrannosaurus rex.   (AP Photo)
A replica of a Tyrannosaurus Rex is on exhibit at the Natural History Museum February 23, 2001 in London, England.
A replica of a Tyrannosaurus Rex is on exhibit at the Natural History Museum February 23, 2001 in London, England.   (Getty Images)
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What drew my attention to trichomonosis as a potential candidate for these mysterious lesions on the jaws of tyrannosaurs is the manifestation of the effects of the disease in birds. - Ewan Wolff, University of Wisconsin-Madison

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13 comments
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divetrader
Sep 29, 09 1:00 PM CDT
Chances are that eventually they will discover T-Rex had feathers like birds too. Could you imagine that thing swooping down from the skies? Reply
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SalParadise
Sep 29, 09 3:16 PM CDT
Not quite following your logic here.
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Realist
Sep 29, 09 3:45 PM CDT
Uh... scary thought but even if it *did* turn out to have feathers there's nowhere for functional wings to attach... and they'd need to be HUGE to lift something so big!
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pwnage
Sep 29, 09 1:10 PM CDT
Mouth and throat 'ravaged' making eating 'tricky'? Sounds more like a description of a water hazard on a fairway than starvation. Love the way these scientists think :-) Reply
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JoeQ
Sep 29, 09 1:21 PM CDT
If you ever watch a roadrunner stalking and eating some prey, it resembles one of those veliciraptors in the Jurassic Park movie. They are vicious predators - other animals flee when they approach. Its a member of the cuckoo family. It makes me wonder if the tyrannosaur wasn't a whole lot like an enormous cuckoo bird. Reply
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