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Sore Throat May Have Axed T Rex

Trichomonosis still affects modern birds and makes eating almost impossible

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 29, 2009 12:40 PM CDT
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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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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 14 comments
ReadLessKnowMore
Dec 11, 2009 4:25 AM CST
Parasites. Can live without them, can't live with them.
Snarfeh
Sep 30, 2009 2:09 AM CDT
Again..DAMN, Joe...move...NOW! Seriously, though, do they ever attack people? I have the old Roadrunner/Coyote theme song as one of my ringtones (if he catches you, you're through!) and I don't think it will ever sound the same again.
Rocket448
Sep 30, 2009 1:26 AM CDT
Or a relative of the emu or cassowary! According to Wikipedia, until the 1500s the Moa would've been a terrifying predator -- with feathers. Humans hunted Moa to extinction, but I'll bet it was not easy and probably cost many Maori their lives. I'm just speculating. I love articles like this one. I sometimes think, while eating a scrambled egg, "that's one less damned dinosaur."

 
birds • paleontology • starvation • infection • extinction • parasite • T. rex • Tyrannosaurus rex • feeding • trichomonosis

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