Witzmann Florian, Haridy Yara, Hilger André, Manke Ingo, Asbach Patrick
Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany.
Int J Paleopathol. 2021 Jun;33:30-42. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2020.12.002. Epub 2021 Feb 27.
A malformed pectoral joint of the middle Devonian antiarch fish Asterolepis ornata is described, and a survey of congenital malformations in the fossil record is provided.
The specimen of A. ornata (MB.f.73) from Ehrman in Latvia, stored at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Germany.
A. ornata was macroscopically and radiologically investigated, and the overview on congenital malformation was based on an extensive literature survey.
In the deformed joint of A. ornata, the articular surfaces and muscle attachment sites are greatly reduced, indicating restricted mobility. Congenital malformations can be found since the middle Silurian and affect all groups of vertebrates, but they are rare. Teeth and the vertebral column are the most commonly affected anatomical regions, and the mechanisms causing these malformations probably remained the same through geological time.
Micro-CT of the deformed joint shows no disturbance of the normal trabecular pattern and no evidence of trauma or disease, suggesting a congenital hypoplasia, although an acquired deformity cannot be ruled out completely.
Congenital malformations, even those that are rare, were part of the common history of vertebrates for more than 400 million years.
Epidemiologic measures like incidence and prevalence usually cannot be applied to define rare diseases in the fossil record.
A broadly based analysis of species of fossil vertebrates with numerus recovered specimens (e.g. many bony fishes, amphibians, certain dinosaurs) might statistically affirm the occurrence of malformations and possible correlations with the paleoenvironment.
描述了中泥盆世反弓鱼类华丽星鳞鱼畸形的胸关节，并对化石记录中的先天性畸形进行了概述。
来自拉脱维亚埃尔曼的华丽星鳞鱼标本（MB.f.73），保存在德国柏林自然历史博物馆。
对华丽星鳞鱼进行了宏观和放射学研究，关于先天性畸形的概述基于广泛的文献调查。
在华丽星鳞鱼变形的关节中，关节面和肌肉附着部位大大减少，表明活动受限。自志留纪中期以来就发现了先天性畸形，且影响所有脊椎动物类群，但它们很罕见。牙齿和脊柱是最常受影响的解剖区域，导致这些畸形的机制在地质时期可能保持不变。
变形关节的显微CT显示正常小梁模式未受干扰，也没有创伤或疾病的迹象，提示为先天性发育不全，尽管不能完全排除后天性畸形。
先天性畸形，即使是罕见的畸形，在超过4亿年的时间里一直是脊椎动物共同历史的一部分。
发病率和患病率等流行病学指标通常不能用于确定化石记录中的罕见疾病。
对有大量标本可供研究的化石脊椎动物物种（如许多硬骨鱼类、两栖动物、某些恐龙）进行广泛分析，可能会从统计学上证实畸形的发生以及与古环境的可能关联。
