Parasite may have felled a mighty T. rex
Skull holes in several dinosaur specimens are consistent with those found in diseased birds
Talk about a cold case. The culprit behind a 67-million-year-old murder may be exposed at last. A common avian parasite may have brought down one of the world’s most famous
Tyrannosaurus rex
dinosaurs, a study appearing online September 29 in
PLoS ONE
suggests.
Formally known as FMNH PR2081, Sue is the largest and best-preserved T. rex specimen in the world. Although scientists know a lot about Sue, whose skeleton currently resides at the Field Museum in Chicago, they still puzzle over what caused the smooth-edged holes in her jaw. (She’s named Sue even though her sex is one of her mysteries.)
Possible explanations for the damage, which has been found in several other specimens’ skulls as well, have included bite wounds and fungal infections, but these culprits don’t match well with the holes’ shapes, sizes and locations, says study coauthor Ewan Wolff of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.