Title |
Palaeopathological Survey of a Population of Mapusaurus (Theropoda: Carcharodontosauridae) from the Late Cretaceous Huincul Formation, Argentina
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Published in |
PLOS ONE, May 2013
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0063409 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Phil R. Bell, Rodolfo A. Coria |
Abstract |
Paleoepidemiology (the study of disease and trauma in prehistoric populations) provides insight into the distribution of disease and can have implications for interpreting behavior in extinct organisms. A monospecific bonebed of the giant carcharodontosaurid Mapusaurus (minimum number of individuals = 9) from the Cañadón del Gato site, Neuquén Province, Argentina (Cenomanian) provides a rare opportunity to investigate disease within a single population of this important apex predator. Visual inspection of 176 skeletal elements belonging to a minimum of nine individuals yielded a small number of abnormalities on a cervical vertebra, two ribs, pedal phalanx, and an ilium. These are attributed to traumatic (two cases), infectious (two cases) and anomalous (one case) conditions in a minimum of one individual. The emerging picture for large theropod (abelisaurids, allosaurids, carcharodontosaurids, tyrannosaurids) populations suggests that 1) osseous abnormalities were relatively rare (7-19% of individuals) but consistently present, and 2) trauma was a leading factor in the frequency of pathological occurrences, evidence of an active, often perilous lifestyle. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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United States | 2 | 29% |
United Kingdom | 1 | 14% |
Canada | 1 | 14% |
Argentina | 1 | 14% |
Unknown | 2 | 29% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
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Scientists | 3 | 43% |
Members of the public | 3 | 43% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 14% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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Chile | 1 | 2% |
Germany | 1 | 2% |
Argentina | 1 | 2% |
Unknown | 44 | 94% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Bachelor | 10 | 21% |
Researcher | 8 | 17% |
Student > Master | 7 | 15% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 7 | 15% |
Other | 3 | 6% |
Other | 5 | 11% |
Unknown | 7 | 15% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Earth and Planetary Sciences | 21 | 45% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 8 | 17% |
Environmental Science | 4 | 9% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 1 | 2% |
Computer Science | 1 | 2% |
Other | 3 | 6% |
Unknown | 9 | 19% |