“Big John” Triceratops Specimen Has Skull Injuries That May Have Come From Combat With Another Dinosaur

The Triceratops horridus Massive John. The whole restored skeleton; the fenestra analyzed right here is indicated by the white circle (courtesy of Ferrara A., and Briano I.). Credit score: Scientific Stories (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08033-2

The fossilized stays of the triceratops specimen referred to as ‘Massive John’ show accidents to the cranium which will have occurred throughout fight with one other triceratops, in line with new analysis revealed in Scientific Stories.

Triceratops (Triceratops horridus) is a species of horned dinosaurs characterised by its giant neck frill fashioned from prolonged patietal and squamosal cranium bones. It has been instructed that this bony frill served as safety towards accidents from different triceratops throughout fights.

The Triceratops horridus Massive John. (a) The whole restored skeleton; the fenestra analyzed right here is indicated by the white circle (courtesy of Ferrara A., and Briano I.). (b) Element of the cranium (courtesy of Ferrara A., and Briano I.). (c) Element of the fenestra: plaquelike deposition of reactive bone (white arrows) and lytic lesions (black arrows) are seen on the bony floor across the lesion. The area the place the pattern to be analyzed was taken is seen on the decrease margin. Credit score: Scientific Stories (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08033-2

Ruggero D’Anastasio and colleagues examined the triceratops specimen referred to as ‘Massive John’, so named for its giant measurement, which was found in 2014 within the Higher Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation, Montana, USA. They report the presence of a keyhole-shaped opening (a fenestra) in the best squamosal bone. The bone floor across the fenestra is irregular and options plaque-like deposits of bone, which may have resulted from irritation (presumably from an infection). The authors analyzed samples taken from the bigger margin of the fenestra, which reveal that the bone tissue across the fenestra is porous with numerous blood vessels in comparison with bone tissue farther from the fenestra, suggesting that this was newly fashioned bone. The bone additionally confirmed indicators of reworking, as demonstrated by the presence of little pits referred to as Howship lacunae.

Collectively, these options point out that the fenestra was brought on by a traumatic damage however that the bone was therapeutic on the time of Massive John’s dying. The authors recommend that the damage was brought on by the horn of one other triceratops, and occurred at the least six months earlier than Massive John’s dying. Primarily based on these findings, the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic course of in dinosaurs seems to be much like that in mammals.

Reference: “Histological and chemical analysis of a fight lesion in Triceratops” by Ruggero D’Anastasio, Jacopo Cilli, Flavio Bacchia, Federico Fanti, Giacomo Gobbo and Luigi Capasso, 7 April 2022, Scientific Stories.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08033-2