CU-Boulder Research Team Discovers Evidence Of Gut Parasites In Dinosaur

University of Colorado ^ | Oct. 23, 2006 | Office of News Services

[SunkenCiv]

University of Colorado at Boulder researchers have discovered what appears to be the first evidence of parasites in the gut contents of a dinosaur, indicating even the giants that roamed Earth 75 million years ago were beset by stomach worms. The evidence was found in an exceptionally well preserved duck-billed dinosaur dug from the rocks of the Judith River Formation near Malta, Mont. Assistant Professor Karen Chin of CU-Boulder's geological sciences department and former graduate student Justin Tweet identified more than 200 suspected parasite burrows in 17 samples of gut material from the dinosaur that most likely were made by tiny worms similar to annelids and nematodes that infest animals today, she said... The gut contents of "Leonardo" consists of a mix of fingernail-sized plant fragments mixed in a clay-rich matrix of sediment, said Tweet. Tiny white burrows visible throughout the gut-contents material were analyzed with microscopes connected to computer screens to chart their size and routes, he said. The CU-Boulder researchers counted at least 10 cases of "paired burrows" sharing a common burrow wall in the dinosaur gut, and in several cases such burrows even match changes in direction, suggesting they were made by two individuals at the same time, said Chin. The parallel routes suggest short periods of sustained contact, which could be related to a social interaction such as mating, she said.

[SunkenCiv]

---

An artist's conception of Leonardo, a duck-billed dinosaur known as a brachylophosaur excavated in Montana, as it may have looked shortly after its death. Artwork courtesy Greg Wenzel.

---