Different types of bone fractures in dinosaur fossils
Baoqiao Hao, Hao Feng, Zhiqiang Zhao, Yong Ye, Du-Xing Wan, Guangzhao Peng
Abstract
As more new fossils are discovered, a great number of extraordinary specimens have greatly enhanced our understanding of bone features in dinosaurs. The fracture patterns of dinosaur bones are distinctive and easily identifiable, and thus have received increasing attention. Some pioneering modern medical studies have categorised two types of bone fractures, including traumatic (a broken bone caused by an injury) and pathologic (a broken bone caused by a disease) fractures. Here, we investigated two fossil specimens collected from Yangchuanosaurus hepingensis and Gigantospinosaurus sichuanensis, respectively, which were both uncovered in the Sichuan Basin, southwestern China. These specimens were subjected to osteological examination, CT scanning and spectral data analysis. Thus, multiple lines of evidence indicate that the bone fracture in the two dinosaurs is attributed to different factors.