[dinosaur] Arkansaurus with greenstick fracture, possible gout in pedal bones

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

A new paper:

Bruce Rothschild & H. Wayne Lambert (2019)
First documentation of a greenstick fracture in the fossil record. Possible
gout also noted in Arkansaurus fridayii.
Historical Biology (advance online publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1080_08912963.2019.1693558&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=WYamm_9HKtePOyt533G6ZghxSzeFZ_wMLe9PjKnTxug&s=ip_3qnclEsnjXAj1Gf8OHVTfSAjlLZsxJZaitNhOzHo&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.tandfonline.com_doi_full_10.1080_08912963.2019.1693558&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=WYamm_9HKtePOyt533G6ZghxSzeFZ_wMLe9PjKnTxug&s=Ta7ak9ZG_CwKJ9JMgQy9LczjPc_lGk7qYllwnBzaIGQ&e= 


Examination of a cast of the newly recognised Arkansas state dinosaur,
Arkansaurus fridayii, revealed abnormal pedal features. As casts do not
always faithfully reproduce bony alterations and often lack sufficient
resolution for delineation of fine features, the original pedal elements
were obtained and subjected to non-destructive microscopic examination to
characterise the nature and identify the derivation of the macroscopically
recognised pathology. A fracture event associated with tendon/ligament
avulsion and possible gout was identified. The fractures were greenstick in
nature, a variety not previously reported in dinosaurs. A spherical defect,
characteristic of gout, was also noted. Trauma produced tendon/ligament
avulsion greenstick fractures. Gout has previously been noted in
tyrannosaurs, but these findings would be its first recognition in an
orinthomimid.