Did the dinosaurs suffer from respiratory issues? Researchers make breathtaking discovery  

The first evidence of respiratory infection in a dinosaur, which lived over 150 million years ago, has been found by the researchers.

The discovery was made by the palaeontologists when they examined the fossilised neck bones of a diplodocid.

Diplodocid is a huge and long-necked herbivore, which existed on Earth in the late Jurassic period.

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Dr Cary Woodruff, director, palaeontology, Great Plains Dinosaur Museum in Malta, Montana, noticed unusual broccoli-like growths in several neck bones of the dinosaur named Dolly. It happened when Woodruff was inspecting the remains of the dinosaur, which was unearthed over 30 years ago.

“I’ve looked at a lot of sauropod vertebrae and I’ve seen some weird things, but never anything like these structures,” Woodruff told the Guardian.

Woodruff, who was stumped by the finding, put a call out on social media for anyone, who may know what it was.

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In the immediate response, a number of scientists joined the investigation. They said the bony growths looked similar to protrusions, which can be caused by respiratory infections in birds of today’s era.

“I imagine that Dolly would have been very much like a sick person: coughing, sneezing, experiencing a fever and out of it. We’ve all had many of the same symptoms, and likely felt just as crummy as Dolly did. I don’t personally know of any fossil I’ve been able to sympathetically relate to more,” Woodruff said.

(With inputs from agencies)