German and American paleontologists diagnosed osteosarcoma in the ancestor of the turtle - the reptile Pappochelys rosinae, which lived about 240 million years ago. Scientists note that this is the oldest known case of such a disease in higher vertebrates. The results of the study make it possible to debunk the myth about the connection between cancer and the development of civilization: the disease accompanied living beings throughout the entire stages of evolutionary development.
Experts from Germany and the United States discovered osteosarcoma in the reptile Pappochelys rosinae (pappochelys in Greek means "grandfather of turtles."), Which lived about 240 million years ago. According to scientists, this is the oldest known case of such a disease in higher vertebrates.
P.rosinae fossils were found in southwestern Germany in 2013. Using microscopy and computed tomography, specialists examined the left femur of a reptile, about five centimeters long. On it, they found a large growth, the analysis of which showed that P.rosinae suffered from periosteal osteosarcoma. This type of cancer develops on the surface of the bone.
According to the co-author of the study, a researcher at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (USA) Bruce Rothschild, it is extremely rare to detect cancer cells in ancient remains, since it is quite difficult to implement from a technical point of view. Nevertheless, scientists believe that a dangerous disease affected living beings no less often than today.
“The results of the study prove that the uncontrolled growth of tumor cells in living things took place in the Triassic period and that cancer is not a characteristic feature of modern civilization. This problem is deeply rooted in the history of the evolution of vertebrates,”the authors of the work note.
P.rosinae, the ancestors of modern turtles, lived in the Middle Triassic 242-235 million years ago. However, due to their long body and tail, they looked more like lizards: P.rosinae did not yet have a shell, but the pectoral ribs had already expanded. After a couple of tens of millions of years, they combined to form an "armor". In total, it took about 50 million years to form a full-fledged shell. Fully "armored" turtles appeared about 210-205 million years ago.
Anastasia Ksenofontova