Swelling on an Iguanodon Shinbone May Reveal the First Known Infected Ulcer in a Dinosaur
Learn about an iguanodon that had an infected skin ulcer that spread to one of its leg bones, leaving behind signs of swelling.
The creature known as the Iguanodon, a dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period, has a new record to its name - the first documented case of an infected ulcer in a dinosaur. While investigating an Iguanodon tibia, researchers uncovered a swelling measuring approximately 6.9 inches in length and 4.6 inches in width, which covered about 17 percent of the bone's total length.
The CT scans revealed a low thickening and moderate expansion of the cortical bone, without extending into the medullary cavity. The researchers concluded that the swelling was most likely the result of a tropical skin ulcer rather than trauma, neoplasia, or other causes. Living in Europe during a warm, humid subtropical to warm-temperate climate, Iguanodons would have been susceptible to such infections, making this finding particularly intriguing.
Polymicrobial infections, caused by multiple microorganisms, have not been previously observed in dinosaurs, further highlighting the uniqueness of this discovery.
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