Parasite vs. Dino
Who would win in a fight? Well, according to scientists in Chicago, tiny parasites are what likely caused the demise of one mighty T-Rex.
Parasites are organisms that cannot live on their own. They have to feed and live on another organism. In this dinosaur’s case, the parasite is called Trichomonas. Although the dinos became extinct about 65 million years go, some variations of Trichomonas are still in existence on Earth today. Watch out!
During prehistoric times, there were no remedies for parasites, especially if you were a dino with no health benefits. The dinos had no choice but to deal with the parasite infestation. In the worst cases, the parasites could cause tissue to swell and block the throat. They can also cause the jaw to rot and eventually leave holes in the bones. Eventually the dino would die of thirst or starve.
The scientists knew that the holes in the jaw were not like those caused by fighting or another kind of infection — the shape, size and location were different! Another explanation was needed. By chance, the scientist decided to examine the skulls of modern animals like birds and crocodiles and incredibly they found similar holes! An osprey had the very same type of holes as this dino had and the scientists knew that when the bird was alive, it was infected with Trichomonas.
This dino was probably infected either by eating an infected animal, through face biting or through cannibalism. Maybe now going to the doctor shouldn’t seem like such a bad thing!
sciencenewsforkids.org
