page_title: Telmatosaurus
section_title: Paleopathology
hierarchical_section_title: Telmatosaurus / Paleobiology / Paleopathology
caption_attribution_description: Artistic reconstruction of the pathological individual of the hadrosauroid Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus (LPB [FGGUB] R.1305) in rostral view, showing the probable life appearance of the mandibular deformity caused by ameloblastoma. (Reconstruction by M.D. D.).
context_page_description: Telmatosaurus is a genus of basal hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. It was a relatively small hadrosaur, approximately five meters long, found in what is now Romania.
context_section_description: A juvenile Telmatosaurus examined by Dumbrava et al. bears a large non-cancerous tumor called an ameloblastoma on its lower jaw. The presence of this benign tumor in a dinosaur is a first, as before the discovery, ameloblastomas were known only from modern mammals (including humans) and reptiles. The discovery of an ameloblastoma in a dinosaur gives evidence that the development of benign tumors is a basal characteristic, not just a relatively modern condition.
  It is unlikely that the tumor caused the dinosaur any serious pain during its early stages of development, just as in humans with the same condition, but researchers can tell from its size that this particular dinosaur died before it reached adulthood. Since its preserved remains consist of only the two lower jaws, no one can ascertain its cause of death. The researchers were left wondering whether the presence of the ameloblastoma could have contributed to its death. From modern examples, we know that predators often target weak or injured individuals of the herd. The tumor in this dinosaur had not developed to its full extent at the moment it died, but it could have indirectly contributed to its early demise.
caption: Restoration showing juvenile with jaw deformity
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