A new study published in the “Journal of Comparative Neurology” (Journal of Comparative Neurology) shows that the brain of the Tyrannosaurus rex contains enough neurons to have the intelligence comparable to that of baboons to solve problems and even build group culture.
The “Washington Post” reported that people have long had the impression of tyrannosaurs as tall and clumsy. The reason why they dominated the Cretaceous period was due to their terrifying giant jaws and sharp teeth, not their wisdom.
But the study, published today in the Journal of Comparative Neurology, suggests that tyrannosaurs were the primates of their time.
According to study author Suzana Herculano-Houzel, a neuroscientist and biologist at Vanderbilt University, theropod dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex (small forelimbs, walking mainly on two hind legs or Running carnivorous dinosaurs) have brain cells similar to those of baboons, and should have the ability to solve problems and even construct group culture.
“If it wasn’t for a small asteroid hitting the Earth and causing cataclysm, Earth would be a horrible and very different world,” she said.
The study builds on mounting evidence that Tyrannosaurus was not just a large creature, but a pack animal.
The soft tissue that makes up dinosaur gray matter (an important component of the central nervous system, composed of neurons, glial cells, and microvessels) has long since decayed and disappeared. So Hokulano Herzo studied the bony skulls of Tyrannosaurus rex and compared them with the skeletons of birds. Birds are living relatives of Tyrannosaurus rex.
Hokulano Hezo deduced from ostriches and emus (also known as Australian ostriches) that the brain of Tyrannosaurus rex had as many as 3 billion neurons, which is similar to that of baboons; Alioramus, which belongs to the same family of tyrannosaurs, also had 1 billion neurons Brain neurons, similar to capuchin monkeys.
Hokulano Herzo said that if the cognitive ability is close to that of baboons, it means that T. rex may know how to use tools and pass on knowledge to the next generation.
Studies have upended the image of T. rex as a scaly, solitary creature. Large cemetery fossils found in Utah, Montana, and elsewhere suggest that the carnivorous dinosaurs lived in packs like wolves; other remains of male theropods were found guarding a Nest eggs, same behavior as modern birds.
Paleontologists even think that Tyrannosaurus should have feathers, and are hunting for fossil evidence.
Hokulano Hezo’s analysis is to pull out theropod dinosaurs and classify them as a separate warm-blooded group, not to confuse Tyrannosaurus and its close relatives with other kinds of dinosaurs. Evidence for social patterns of hunting in packs.