An interesting study has revealed that even the giant dinosaurs millions of years ago used to sneeze and cough due to diseases like bird flu. And maybe they had a fever.
The discovery was made by experts at the Museum of Rockies in the US state of Montana after years of research on the fossils of a dinosaur about 150 million years old.
Called "Dolly" or "MOR 7029", the fossils were discovered in the 1990's in an area of Montana, Malta.
The fossils were those of a long-necked, heavy-bodied, and four-legged sauropod dinosaur that lived there about 150 million years ago.
These fossils were carefully handled and placed in the basement of the museum, and regular research on them began many years later, around 2005.
This research continued intermittently until 2021. During this time other fossils of the Dolly dinosaur were also discovered and various parts of it were carefully studied.
Examination by CT scan and other advanced techniques revealed that its neck and throat were very different from those of other sauropod dinosaurs.
Attached to the trachea in the dolly, the spinal cord was slightly moved from its original position, while the texture of its ribs in the fossil also seemed a bit strange.
It should be noted that the dinosaur's respiratory system was similar to that of modern birds.
Using the same analogy, when Dolly's legs and other body parts were examined, it was found that her throat and ribs were in the same condition as those of modern birds with bird flu.
Apparently, due to the cold, Dolly had such a severe attack of sneezing and coughing that even the part of her neck and ribs shook from its place.
In the latest issue of the research journal "Scientific Reports", American and Canadian scientists have stated that the dinosaur may have been between 15 and 20 years old at the time of its death.
However, there are no signs in its fossils that indicate another animal attacking it or a heavy rock falling on it.
All of this evidence "indicates that he died peacefully, due to a serious illness," said Dr. Kerry Woodruff, lead author of the research paper and of the Museum of the Rockies. Are senior scientists.
"We can say with certainty that respiratory diseases existed even in the time of the dinosaurs." But we can't say whether those diseases were caused by germs and fungi or whether they were caused by viruses like the current bird flu virus, "said Dr. Woodruff.
