Dinosaurs suffered from arthritis too! 70 million-year-old hadrosaur fossil shows its joints were covered in bony growths

A dinosaur has been diagnosed with severe arthritis 70 million years after its death.

Scientists believed the hadrosaur, a plant-eating duck-billed dinosaur, must have endured considerable suffering before reaching the end of its life.

X-ray analysis of its fossilised elbow joint revealed evidence of septic arthritis, an especially nasty form of the disease caused by infection and known to afflict modern birds, crocodiles and humans.

Hadrosaur has become the first to be diagnosed with a particularly nasty form of arthritis 70 million years after it gingerly walked the Earth with bony growths on its elbow (3D scan shown)

WHAT WERE HADROSAURS?

Hadrosaurs, meaning bulky lizards, were the family of duck-billed herbivorous dinosaurs – and the most common of the prehistoric beasts.

They ranged in size from 10 to 65-feet (three to 20 metres) long and had horn-like toothless beaks and hundreds of teeth inside their jaws for grinding plants.

They are thought to have run on their hind legs, using their tail for balance, but would have walked on all fours for grazing and drinking.

Hadrosaurs lived during the Cretaceous -from 145 to 66 million years ago – and their fossils have been found in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Researchers from the University of Manchester teamed up with the New Jersey State Museum and the University of Massachusetts to diagnose the dinosaur, discovered in a former quarry in New Jersey, with the horrific medical condition.

The septic arthritis would have caused the dinosaur’s elbow to appear red and swollen, they said.

‘The condition would have made it almost impossible for the animal to move its elbow, making it look a bit like the hobbling pigeons you see today,’ said lead author Dr Jennifer Anné from the University of Manchester.

‘It’s almost humbling to think that the same conditions that affect the pigeons on the street might have also affected their impressive dinosaur relatives.’

A micro-tomography scan – a high resolution version of the kind of CT scans used in hospitals – showed that the elbow joint was fused and covered in bony growths.

Scientists discovered septic arthritis in the plant-eating duck-billed dinosaur's elbow and said it must have been in considerable pain before reaching the end of its life. A Hadrosaur skeleton is pictured above

Scientists discovered septic arthritis in the plant-eating duck-billed dinosaur’s elbow and said it must have been in considerable pain before reaching the end of its life. A Hadrosaur skeleton is pictured above

‘The condition would have made it almost impossible for the animal to move its elbow, making it look a bit like the hobbling pigeons you see today’ said lead author Dr Jennifer Anné from the University of Manchester. An illustration of hadrosaurs (in brown) is shown

‘The condition would have made it almost impossible for the animal to move its elbow, making it look a bit like the hobbling pigeons you see today’ said lead author Dr Jennifer Anné from the University of Manchester. An illustration of hadrosaurs (in brown) is shown

It is possible the disease may have made it difficult and painful for the plant-eating beast to graze, because it’s thought the dinosaur ate, and drank on all-fours.

The excruciating condition may also have made it harder for the creature to get around and avoid damager, as its limb would have been effective useless.

It is the first time septic arthritis has been seen in a dinosaur, although another arthritic condition called osteomyelitis was quite common among the creatures.

In this case, osteomyelitis was ruled out because of the ‘highly reactive’ bone growth and the location of the affected area around the elbow joint.

The team led by Dr Anne, wrote in the journal Royal Society Open Science: ‘To the best of our knowledge, this is the first recorded account of septic arthritis in dinosaurs.

The team led by Dr Anne, wrote in the journal Royal Society Open Science: ‘To the best of our knowledge, this is the first recorded account of septic arthritis in dinosaurs. One of the fragile fossils studied is shown above

The team led by Dr Anne, wrote in the journal Royal Society Open Science: ‘To the best of our knowledge, this is the first recorded account of septic arthritis in dinosaurs. One of the fragile fossils studied is shown above

Analysis of its fossilised elbow joint revealed evidence of septic arthritis, a particularly painful form of the disease caused by infection, which is known to afflict modern birds, crocodiles and humans (affected areas shown above)

Analysis of its fossilised elbow joint revealed evidence of septic arthritis, a particularly painful form of the disease caused by infection, which is known to afflict modern birds, crocodiles and humans (affected areas shown above)

‘The severity of the pathology suggests the animal suffered with this condition for some time before death.’

Paleopathologies – ancient diseases and injuries – are fairly rare in the fossil record. Even rarer are dinosaurs from the East Coast of North America.

The combination of both is an extremely significant find, which allows for a look at the harsher side of life for dinosaurs on the eastern seaboard 70 million years ago.

It is the first time septic arthritis has been seen in a dinosaur, although another arthritic condition called osteomyelitis was quite common among the creatures. A cross section of the dinosaur's radius is shown along with the outline of its skeleton

It is the first time septic arthritis has been seen in a dinosaur, although another arthritic condition called osteomyelitis was quite common among the creatures. A cross section of the dinosaur’s radius is shown along with the outline of its skeleton

Researchers from the University of Manchester teamed up with the New Jersey State Museum and the University of Massachusetts to diagnose the dinosaur, discovered in a former quarry in New Jersey (pictured), with the horrific medical condition

Researchers from the University of Manchester teamed up with the New Jersey State Museum and the University of Massachusetts to diagnose the dinosaur, discovered in a former quarry in New Jersey (pictured), with the horrific medical condition

The specimen was found was found in a former New Jersey quarry by David Parris of New Jersey State Museum.

Like many fossils from the site, the specimen suffers from a geological condition called pyrite disease. A skeleton is shown

Like many fossils from the site, the specimen suffers from a geological condition called pyrite disease. A skeleton is shown

Like many fossils from this site, the specimen suffers from a geological condition called pyrite disease which makes it very fragile and can lead to it crumbling into dust.

The researchers narrowed their diagnosis down after excluding cancer, gout – which is common in reptiles – tuberculosis, and the poultry disease osteopetrosis.

This is one of the reasons the team used a micro CT scanner for their diagnosis, without the need for saws.

‘By microCTing the specimen, we not only ensured an accurate diagnosis of the pathology, but also the preservation of the specimen for future scientific studies” said co-author Dr Brandon Hedrick.

Co-author Jason Schein of the New Jersey State Museum added: ‘The fact that such a fossil was preserved is difficult to comprehend.

“It’s exciting to think that New Jersey is still producing scientifically important finds after over 200 years of paleontological discoveries.’

A micro-tomography scan - a high resolution version of the kind of CT scans used in hospitals - showed that the joint was fused and covered in bony growths (shown on a 3D scan behind the outline of the dinosaur skeleton)

A micro-tomography scan – a high resolution version of the kind of CT scans used in hospitals – showed that the joint was fused and covered in bony growths (shown on a 3D scan behind the outline of the dinosaur skeleton)