At one time it was believed that dinosaurs were very intelligent, but recent research has completely rejected these theories, indicating that they were not and that they were.They behaved similarly to crocodiles and lizards..
The new study, conducted by an international group of paleontologists, behavioral scientists and neurologists, analyzed both the size and structure of the dinosaur brainrevealing that they were not as intelligent as expected.
This research responds to a previously published study that indicated that dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus Rex They had a very high number of neurons, something that in principle made them smarter than expected.
From this data, the scientists affirmed that they had a degree of intelligence, habits and lifestyle that They could be compared to those of apeseven exploring the possibility that they could transmit knowledge and use some tools.
Denying investigations
However, after the new research analyzed the previous study, it was confirmed that the results that took the size of the dinosaur brain and its number of neurons They were not trustworthy since both the size of their brain and the number of neurons they had had been overestimated.
The main error, according to the new study published in the journal The Anatomical Recordis that in the previous investigation the mineral fillings of the brain cavity were taken into accountcalled endocasts, as well as the shapes of the cavities themselves to estimate the number of neurons, which, scientists say, is also not a reliable guide to measuring intelligence.
According to the researchers, to reliably reconstruct the biology of long-extinct species, multiple lines of evidence need to be studiedincluding skeletal anatomy, bone histology, the behavior of living relatives, as well as fossil remains.
With this, one of the authors of the study, Dr. Darren Naish, from the University of Southampton, states that it is possible to determine intelligence more precisely of both dinosaurs and other extinct animals, rather than just using estimates of the number of neurons.
In addition, Dr. Kai Caspar, from Heinrich Heine University, co-author of the study, also indicates that in his research they argue that it is not a “Good practice“predict intelligence using endocasts, since can lead to misleading interpretations.
The evidence is clear for researchers, because instead of being as intelligent as an ape, dinosaurs actually They looked more like giant intelligent crocodiles.something “equally fascinating“, according to Naish.
