Undoubtedly a terrifying creature, Sue,
the largest and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered, prowled what
is now South Dakota approximately 67 million years ago at the end of the
dinosaur era. Even this enormous dinosaur, whose remains are on exhibit at the
Field Museum in Chicago, was not impervious to danger. The numerous circular
holes in Sue's jawbone, which continue to confound scientists, are a prime
illustration of this. Recent research looking for an explanation for
these gaps has ruled out one main possibility, but the answer is still
unclear.
Eight holes on the left lower jawbone,
or mandible, on the rear half, some the size of golf balls, according to
researchers, were not brought on by a particular microbial illness as some specialists
had suggested.
The holes were found to be distinct
from the bone damage caused by such an infection, according to Bruce
Rothschild, a physician and research associate at the Carnegie Museum of
Natural History in Pittsburgh and the study's primary author. The journal
Cretaceous Research published the findings this week.
Sue, a 12.3-meter (40-1/2-foot) long
fossil of a dinosaur, is one of the most well-known dinosaur fossils in the
world. After the Cretaceous Period, Tyrannosaurus—one of the
greatest terrestrial predators ever—inhabited western North America.
According to Jingmai O'Connor, a
palaeontologist at the Field Museum and a co-author of the study, 15% of all T.
rex bones contain holes like Sue's.
The scientists looked into the possibility
that a protozoan infection had resulted in the holes. Trichomoniasis is a
typical protozoan disease that affects both people and birds, which descended
from dinosaurs with feathers, and is brought on by a parasite protozoan.
Trichomoniasis is a sexually transmitted illness in humans but not in birds.
O'Connor pointed out that a bird with
trichomoniasis had jaw damage, but it wasn't like Sue's holes.
The fact that the bone around Sue's
holes had begun to heal suggested that whatever had caused them did not result
in the animal's death. Sue's mending and the mended fractures in other
fossilised bones, as well as the healing bone seen around holes created in the
skulls of ancient Inca people in Peru, were shown to be similar.
The reason for Sue's holes is still a
mystery.
When mating, claw injury was suggested
by Rothschild, or as he described it: "climbing from back or top with
claws striking the posterior mandible". Sue is a female name in honour of
the person who found the dinosaur fossils in 1990, but it is unclear what
gender the dinosaur is.
"I honestly have no idea what
formed them," O'Connor continued. They are neither bite nor claw marks, in
my opinion," the speaker added.
O'Connor continued, "A condition
that frequently affected T. rex individuals, that caused sizable holes to open
up in the jawbone but just in the back of the jawbone, but didn't kill the T.
rex because the wounds started to heal, at least in Sue — it's bizarre". So many theories have been advanced just to be disproved. My favourite is
an excellent palaeontology mystery.
Sue, a dinosaur with a lifespan of roughly 33 years, suffered harm in addition to the holes.
Sue was fairly old when she passed away,
and she exhibits multiple diseases and injuries, according to O'Connor.
"Its hands were gouty. It had landed on its right side, breaking several
ribs, but they eventually mended. The right arm's damaged ligament is now
recovering. Its left leg was suffering from a terrible bone infection. In its
tail, it had arthritis. In its final year, it would not have been a happy
camper".
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