PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Studies on pathological fossil bones have allowed improving the knowledge of physiology and ecology, and consequently the life history of extinct organisms. Among extinct vertebrates, non-avian dinosaurs have drawn attention in terms of pathological evidence, since a wide array of fossilized lesions and diseases were noticed in these ancient organisms. Here, we evaluate the pathological conditions observed in individuals of different brachyrostran (Theropoda, Abelisauridae) taxa, including Aucasaurus garridoi, Elemgasem nubilus, and Quilmesaurus curriei. For this, we use multiple methodological approaches such as histology and computed tomography, in addition to the macroscopic evaluation. The holotype of Aucasaurus shows several pathognomonic traits of a failure of the vertebral segmentation during development, causing the presence of two fused caudal vertebrae. The occurrence of this condition in Aucasaurus is the first case to be documented so far in non-tetanuran theropods. Regarding the holotype of Elemgasem, the histology of two fused vertebrae shows an intervertebral space between the centra, thus the fusion is limited to the distal rim of the articular surfaces. This pathology is here considered as spondyloarthropathy, the first evidence for a non-tetanuran theropod. The microstructural arrangement of the right tibia of Quilmesaurus shows a marked variation in a portion of the outer cortex, probably due to the presence of the radial fibrolamellar bone tissue. Although similar bone tissue is present in other extinct vertebrates and the cause of its formation is still debated, it could be a response to some kind of pathology. Among non-avian theropods, traumatic injuries are better represented than other maladies (e.g., infection, congenital or metabolic diseases, etc.). These pathologies are recovered mainly among large-sized theropods such as Abelisauridae, Allosauridae, Carcharodontosauridae, and Tyrannosauridae, and distributed principally among axial elements. Statistical tests on the distribution of injuries in these theropod clades show a strong association between taxa-pathologies, body regions-pathologies, and taxa-body regions, suggesting different life styles and behaviours may underlie the frequency of different injuries among theropod taxa.
摘要：
对病理化石骨骼的研究提高了生理学和生态学的知识，以及灭绝生物的生活史。在灭绝的脊椎动物中，非鸟类恐龙在病理学证据方面引起了人们的注意，因为在这些古老的生物中发现了各种各样的化石病变和疾病。这里,我们评估了在不同brachyyrostran个体中观察到的病理状况（Theropoda，Abelisauridae)类群，包括Aucasaurusgarridoi,Elemgasemnubilus，和Quilmesauruscurriei。为此，我们使用多种方法，如组织学和计算机断层扫描，除了宏观评价。Aucasaurus的整体型显示出发育过程中椎骨分割失败的几种病理特征，导致两个融合的尾椎的存在。在Aucasaurus中发生这种情况是迄今为止在非tetanuran兽脚类动物中记录的第一例。关于Elemgasem的整型，两个融合椎骨的组织学显示中心之间的椎间空间，因此，融合仅限于关节表面的远端边缘。这种病理在这里被认为是脊柱关节病，第一个证据是非翼虎兽脚类。Quilmesaurus的右胫骨的微观结构排列显示出外皮层的一部分有明显的变化，可能是由于放射状纤维板层骨组织的存在。尽管在其他已灭绝的脊椎动物中也存在类似的骨组织，并且其形成的原因仍存在争议，可能是对某种病理的反应.在非鸟类兽脚类动物中，创伤性损伤比其他疾病更好地表现(例如，感染,先天性或代谢性疾病，等。).这些病变主要在大型兽脚类动物中恢复，例如Abelisauridae，异龙科,卡甲齿科，和霸王科,并且主要分布在轴向元件之间。对这些兽脚类进化枝的伤害分布的统计测试表明，分类群病理之间存在很强的关联，身体区域-病理学，和分类群-身体区域，提示不同的生活方式和行为可能是兽脚类动物中不同伤害频率的基础。
