Abstract
An absence of ancient archaeological and palaeontological evidence of pneumonia contrasts with its recognition in the more recent archaeological record. We document an apparent infection-mediated periosteal reaction affecting the dorsal ribs in a Middle Triassic eosauropterygian historically referred to as ‘Proneusticosaurus’ silesiacus. High-resolution X-ray microtomography and histological studies of the pathologically altered ribs revealed the presence of a continuous solid periosteal reaction with multiple superficial blebs (protrusions) on the visceral surfaces of several ribs. Increased vascularization and uneven lines of arrested growth document that the pathology was the result of a multi-seasonal disease. While visceral surface localization of this periosteal reaction represents the earliest identified evidence for pneumonia, the blebs may have an additional implication: they have only been previously recognized in humans with tuberculosis (TB). Along with this diagnosis is the presence of focal vertebral erosions, parsimoniously compared to vertebral manifestation of TB in humans.
Highlights
Pathological conditions observed in fossil skeletal remains provide an exceptional opportunity for epidemiologic study of2018 The Authors
Previous reports of Mesozoic marine reptile pathology have been limited to recognition of bone necrosis, of both aseptic [12] and infectious [13] aetiology
Aseptic avascular necrosis associated with decompression syndrome is quite common in ancient marine reptiles, including sea turtles [14,15], mosasaurs [16], ichthyosaurs [12] and sauropterygians [12,17]
Summary
Pathological conditions observed in fossil skeletal remains provide an exceptional opportunity for epidemiologic study of2018 The Authors. Most of the conditions described far have been identified in terrestrial or semi-terrestrial taxa They include post-traumatic malformation [5,6], congenital defects [7,8] and neoplasms [3,9,10,11]. Previous reports of Mesozoic marine reptile pathology have been limited to recognition of bone necrosis, of both aseptic [12] and infectious [13] aetiology. Aseptic avascular necrosis associated with decompression syndrome is quite common in ancient marine reptiles, including sea turtles [14,15], mosasaurs [16], ichthyosaurs [12] and sauropterygians [12,17]. The fossil record of infectious disease in marine reptiles is scarce, limited to bacterial infections in Triassic sauropterygians [13] and Cretaceous mosasaurs [18,19]. Fossilization of actual microorganisms is exceptionally rare (e.g. Yersinia strains have been found in Eocene flea) [20]
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