Former research suggesting that dinosaurs were as intelligent as monkeys has been challenged by a new study conducted by an international team of paleontologists, behavioral scientists, and neurologists. This study re-evaluated brain size and structure in dinosaurs and concluded that they exhibited behavior more akin to that of crocodiles and lizards.
Contrary to previous claims that dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) possessed a high number of neurons and were therefore highly intelligent, the new study, published in The Anatomical Record, found that these assumptions about dinosaur brain size and neuron numbers were unreliable. Led by Dr. Kai Caspar from Heinrich Heine University, the team, which included researchers from institutions like the University of Bristol and the University of Alberta, scrutinized the methodologies used to predict brain size and neuron counts in dinosaurs.
The research highlighted that previous estimates of dinosaur brain size, particularly in the forebrain region, had been overestimated, leading to inflated neuron count estimates. Additionally, the study demonstrated that neuron count estimates alone are not a reliable indicator of intelligence.
To reconstruct the biology of extinct species accurately, the team emphasized the importance of considering multiple lines of evidence, such as skeletal anatomy, bone histology, behavior of living relatives, and trace fossils. Dr. Hady George from the University of Bristol stressed the need for a comprehensive approach, stating that relying solely on neuron count estimates from endocasts is insufficient.
Dr. Caspar underscored the limitations of using neuron counts to infer intelligence in extinct species, arguing that it is not good practice to rely solely on this metric. Dr. Ornella Bertrand from Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont echoed this sentiment, cautioning against using neuron counts as predictors of cognitive performance in paleontological research.
Dr. Darren Naish concluded by dispelling the notion of dinosaurs possessing exceptional cognition, likening them more to smart giant crocodiles rather than highly intelligent creatures akin to monkeys. The study suggests that previous claims of dinosaur intelligence may have been misleading, emphasizing the importance of a comprehensive approach to understanding the behavior and cognition of extinct species.
