Paleopatologías del esqueleto axial de un dinosaurio estiracosterno de Morella en las XXXVIII Jornadas de la SEP

Durante la sesión de posters de las XXXVIII Jornadas de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología, celebradas en Valencia; miembros del Grupo de Biología Evolutiva presentaron el trabajo titulado “Multiple palaeopathologies in the axial skeleton of a styracosternan ornithopod from the Barremian of Morella (Castellón)”. En esta contribución, se realiza una descripción de los elementos patológicos localizados en el esqueleto axial de un dinosaurio ornitópodo estiracosterno procedente de la Cantera de Mas de la Parreta, cercana a la localidad castellonense de Morella; sugiriendo en la discusión la probable etiología de cada una de las patologías observadas. El resumen del trabajo es el siguiente:

Palaeopathology has been extensively studied in ornithopods. However, most of the published literature deals with the occurrence of pathologies in bones of the more exclusive hadrosauroid group, being less common in basal styracosternan taxa. Here we describe a set of pathologies in different axial bones (two dorsal vertebrae and a partial dorsal rib) of a styracosternan individual (CMP-5) from the Arcillas de Morella Formation (upper Barremian at Morella, Castellón). One of these dorsal vertebrae is characterised by a remarkable pathological condition. This vertebra exhibits a perimortem anomalous bone mass in the costo-vertebral joint and associated signs of ossification of several ligaments. In addition, this unusual condition caused displacement of the left prezygapophysis resulting in a possible damage to the nervous system in this area and back pain. The features observed in this pathological vertebra are very similar to those reported for spondyloarthropathies, such as costo-vertebral ankylosis, in other closely related styracosternan and basal hadrosauroids. This type of pathology corresponds to a group of inflammatory diseases commonly observed in the axial skeleton, in which the tendency to reactive bone formation, ossification of tendons or ligaments, the presence of asymmetric erosive lesions and fusion of bone elements are the main indicators. A second dorsal vertebra exhibits an unusual fracture located on the right transverse process that closely resembles a fragmentary wedge fracture, a type of trauma more common in long bones, and with evidence of trabecular bone remodelling early in the healing process. The last pathology is observed in a fragment of a dorsal rib and is consistent with a healed wedge fracture. The combination of pathologies present in this individual would have caused pain and discomfort in its usual way of life.

-----
Más información:

• Referencia: Salas-Herrera, J., Escaso, F., Gasulla, J.M., Ortega, F. 2023. Multiple palaeopathologies in the axial skeleton of a styracosternan ornithopod from the Barremian of Morella (Castellón). In Ros-Franch, S., Paredes-Aliaga, M. V., Martínez-Pérez, C. (Eds.), Libro de Resúmenes de las XXXVIII Jornadas SEP. Palaeontological Publications, 4, 208.