Reporte de nuevas paleopatologías en dos ornitópodos de Morella en las XL Jornadas de la SEP

Durante las XL Jornadas de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología, celebradas en la localidad onubense de Aracena; varios miembros del Grupo de Biología Evolutiva de la UNED han presentado el trabajo en formato póster titulado “Report of new paleopathologies in two ornithopods from Morella (Barremian, Early Cretaceous, Castellón)”. En esta contribución, se han mostrado los últimos descubrimientos relacionados con elementos paleopatológicos presentes en dinosaurios ornitópodos estiracosternos de la localidad castellonense de Morella. A continuación, os presentamos el resumen del trabajo:

Paleopathology -the study of injuries and diseases in the fossil record- is an increasingly important and growing field of interest within paleontological research. Pathologies have been described across nearly all major groups of extinct vertebrates, especially non-avian dinosaurs. In particular, ornithopods have a significant record of pathological remains. Recently, the Arcillas de Morella Formation (upper Barremian), one of the richest dinosaur-bearing formations in the Iberian Peninsula, revealed a notable record of styracosternan dinosaur remains exhibiting pathologies. Here we report pathological features found in a partial dorsal rib and a haemal arch of two styracosternan individuals from the Mas de la Parreta (CMP-5) and Mas de Sabaté (CMP-MS-05) fossil sites, respectively. The two studied bones show different types of pathology. The rib (CMP-5/37) presents a well-defined lesion on its lateral surface. Gross morphology indicates that the lesion may be an abscess with osteomyelitis, exhibiting signs of advanced healing and bone remodelling. The haemal arch (CMP-MS-05/165) presents a pronounced defect on the junction of the haemal spine with its two rami, resulting in a lateral curvature toward the left. The lesion may be assigned to a malformation of the haemal spine. However, the etiology remains unclear. The gross appearance of this pathological condition could be of traumatic or congenital origin.

-----
Más información:

• Referencia: Salas-Herrera, J., Escaso, F., Gasulla, J. M., Ortega, F. (2025) Report of new paleopathologies in two ornithopods from Morella (Barremian, Lower Cretaceous, Castellón). In García-Cobeña, J., Ozkaya de Juanas, S., Romero, S. (Eds.). Libro de Resúmenes de las XL Jornadas SEP. Palaeontological Publications 8, 164.