A team of international archaeologists led by researchers at Tel Aviv University, Israel, recently discovered a fossilized tail of a dinosaur in Southern Alberta, Canada. Initial analysis revealed that the fossil is more than 60 million years old, but what surprised the researchers were the unusual cavities in the dinosaur's vertebrae.
What caused these unusual cavities?
Dr Hila May, a researcher at Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research in Tel Aviv, revealed that the cavities are evidence of a benign cancerous tumour in the dinosaur's vertebrae. Interestingly, benign tumours are seen among humans even after 60 million years.
May added that experts have never found evidence of cancer in dinosaurs. The expert made it clear that tumours like these are an indication of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), a form of cancer that mainly affects children under the age of 10. The research report published in the journal Scientific Reports revealed that dinosaurs suffered from large varieties of pathologies than previously discovered.
"Macroscopic and microscopic analyses of the hadrosaur vertebrae were compared to human LCH and to other pathologies observed via an extensive pathological survey of a human skeletal collection. The hadrosaur pathology findings were indistinguishable from those of humans with LCH, supporting that diagnosis. This report suggests that hadrosaurids had suffered from a larger variety of pathologies than previously reported," wrote the researchers in the study report.
Dinosaur discovery continues
A few weeks back, scientists had discovered a new species of dinosaur, which is closely related to Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex). After the discovery, scientists revealed that these dinosaurs had roamed across North America around 80 million years ago.
T-Rex is one of the most famous ancient dinosaurs humans have ever discovered, and they are considered the most dangerous predators to ever roam the earth.
