A reconstruction of the young Telmatosaurus individual: Mihai Dumbravă

The scans suggested that the dinosaur suffered from a condition known as an ‘ameloblastoma’, a tumourous, benign, non-cancerous growth known to afflict the jaws of humans and other mammals, and indeed some modern reptiles, too.

Dr Bruce Rothschild, from the Northeast Ohio Medical University and a worldwide expert in palaeopathology (the study of ancient diseases and injuries) who studied the Micro-CT scans, said: “The discovery of an ameloblastoma in a duck-billed dinosaur documents that we have more in common with dinosaurs than previously realised. We get the same neoplasias.”

“It was expected, due to the impoverished nature of the fauna, that our project to investigate diseases of the bone in the dwarf dinosaurs of the Haţeg County Dinosaurs Geopark would reveal some interesting results, but the discovery of a rare modern tumoural condition, and one that is so far unique in the fossil record, was a wonderful surprise,” explained Mihai Dumbravă, PhD student at Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and lead author of the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports.

It is unlikely that the tumour caused the dinosaur any serious pain during its early stages of development, just as in humans with the same condition, but researchers can tell from its size that this particular dinosaur died before it reached adulthood. Since its preserved remains consist of only the two lower jaws, no one can ascertain its cause of death. The researchers were left wondering, nonetheless, whether the presence of the ameloblastoma could have contributed to its death.

Comparison between the Telmatosaurus juvenile (below) adult specimen.

“We know from modern examples that predators often attack a member of the herd that looks a little different or is even slightly disabled by a disease. The tumour in this dinosaur had not developed to its full extent at the moment it died, but it could have indirectly contributed to its early demise,” said Dr Zoltán Csiki-Sava.

“The particular make-up of the rocks allowed us to identify that this fossil was preserved near the channel of an ancient river. In a setting like this, it is extremely rare to find the complete specimen, and so it is almost impossible to determine the specific cause of death. One can only make an informed guess based upon the evidence we have,” added Kate Acheson.

The research involved an international group of researchers from the Babeş-Bolyai University (Romania), the Northeast Ohio Medical University (USA), Johns Hopkins University (USA), the University of Bucharest (Romania) and the University of Southampton (UK). It was made possible thanks to SCANCO Medical AG, CNCS grant PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0381 and POSDRU grant 159/1.5/S/132400 and was also supported by the University of Bucharest, an institution that oversees the management of the Hațeg County Dinosaurs Geopark (member of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network and of the European Geoparks Network).