Scientists find evidence dinosaurs with necks stretching 16m long 'caught colds'
Scientists from the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum in Montana believe that the bone of a young sauropod found in 1990 shows that some ancient reptiles suffered from coughs, breathing trouble and a fever
Scientists have found a long-necked dinosaur they believe was suffering a cold-like illness.
The young sauropod probably experienced similar symptoms to humans when struck down with a respiratory infection, report Mirror.
Big sauropods could have lengths stretching more than 6m, which would likely have been quite uncomfortable when suffering from a cough, breathing trouble and fever.
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The remains are the first evidence of respiratory infection in a non-avian dinosaur.
The specimen, which has been nicknamed 'Dolly', was discovered in Montana in 1990 and dates back to the Late Jurassic Period, around 150 million years ago.
Cary Woodruff and colleagues from the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum in Montana looked at three bones from Dolly's neck and found never-before-seen abnormal bony protrusions.
Each bone, which had an unusual shape and texture, would have been attached to air-filled structures, known as air sacs.
These connected to the lungs and formed part of the dinosaur's respiratory system
Scans of unusual protrusions on the bone suggest that they most likely formed in response to an infection.
Part of the abstract of the study reads: "While we cannot pinpoint the specific infectious agent that caused the airsacculitis, this diagnosis establishes the first fossil record of this disease.
"Additionally, it allows us increased insight into the medical disorders of dinosaurs from a phylogenetic perspective and understanding what maladies plagued the 'fearfully great lizards'."
The scientists have wagered that Dolly was suffering from a fungal infection similar to aspergillosis, a common respiratory illness that affects birds and reptiles.
They believe it's possible that Dolly died as a result of the infection.
"Given the likely symptoms this animal suffered from, holding these infected bones in your hands, you can't help but feel sorry for Dolly," said Woodruff.
"We've all experienced these same symptoms — coughing, trouble breathing, a fever, etc. — and here's a 150-million-year-old dinosaur that likely felt as miserable as we all do when we're sick."
