You dinosaurs were not as intelligent as previously believed and, although their intelligence could be comparable to that of large reptiles, in no case can it be compared to that of monkeys.
This was the conclusion reached by an international team of researchers, thus contradicting a previous study, published last year, according to which Tyrannosaurus rex had an exceptionally high number of neurons. This was supposed to be directly related to their intelligence, and they compared some of their habits to those of monkeys.
Paleontological and neurological assessment
An international team of researchers from paleontology, behavioral sciences and neurology re-examined the size and structure of the brain in different dinosaurs and concluded that they behaved in a similar way to crocodiles and lizards.
Participating in the new work were researchers from the British universities of Bristol and Southampton, Heinrich Heine (Germany), Alberta and the Royal Ontario Museum – both in Canada – and the Catalan Institute of Paleontology Miquel Crusafont (ICP). The research conclusions were published in the scientific journal The Anatomical Record.
In the previous study, published last year, researchers argued that the high number of neurons was directly related to the intelligence of dinosaurs. They also cited the cultural transmission of knowledge or the use of tools as examples of cognitive characteristics that the species could have presented.
New neuron count
However, researchers closely examined the techniques used to estimate dinosaur brain size and number of neurons and concluded that their deductions were unreliable.
Over the past few decades, paleontologists and biologists have examined the size and anatomy of dinosaur brains and used this data to infer their behavior and lifestyle.
The research team deduced that the Brain size, especially the anterior part, had been overestimated in previous studies and therefore also the neuron count, and concluded that estimates of the number of neurons are not a reliable indicator of the intelligence of these animals.
The team of scientists argues in the new article that, to solidly reconstruct the biology of extinct species, it is necessary to analyze different aspects, such as the anatomy of their skeleton, bone histology, the behavior of current relatives or fossilized remains.
Dinosaurs’ “fascinating” intelligence
“To determine the intelligence of dinosaurs and other extinct animals, it is necessary to incorporate different pieces of evidence, ranging from general anatomy to fossil footprints, and not just focus on estimates of the number of neurons,” explained Hady George, from the School of Human Sciences. Bristol University Land.
Neuron counts “are not good predictors of cognitive performance, and using them to predict intelligence in extinct species can lead to very misleading interpretations,” said researcher Ornella Bertrand, from the Catalan Institute of Paleontology Miquel Crusafont.
“The possibility that T. rex was as intelligent as a baboon is both fascinating and frightening and means reshaping our view of the past”, concluded Darren Naish (University of Southampton). She assured that the new data “goes against this idea” – they were more like giant intelligent crocodiles, and that’s equally fascinating.
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