It's very complicated for experts to compare the intelligence of species, especially about one that we know so little about. However, a new data regarding the Tyrannosaurus Rex emerged, in which it was proven that the density neurology between baboons and Rex were quite similar, which surprised many researchers. After all, that would dispute that the species was much more intelligent than what was imagined. Read and understand more about the intelligence of dinosaurs!
Tyrannosaurus Rex and Baboons Have Similar Intelligences
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The study is still quite premature, however it was enough to surprise the scientists, which were previously believed to have a much lower neurological capacity.
However, with this new data that contests the same neurological density between the two species, it is possible to believe that the Tyrannosaurus Rex were indeed very intelligent and could even have used tools, just like humans and some other animals. at the moment.
The finding was published in the Journal of Comparative Neurology and created a heated discussion among experts. This is because a part applauded the progress in the face of research on the intelligence of dinosaurs, while the other believes the data is flawed and too little to dispute the intelligence of the species.
So is it possible to measure the intelligence of dinosaurs?
Finding out about the cognitive ability of dinosaurs has always been a challenge for researchers, who historically used the encephalization quotient, that is, they measured the size of the dinosaurs' brain related to the size of the body. Thus, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, for example, had an encephalization quotient of 2.4.
However, the method is quite flawed, after all many animals grow regardless of their brain size. The paleoneurologist, Ashley Morhardt still says how complicated it is to measure this quotient, especially if the species has already been extinct.
For this reason, Suzana Herculano-Houzel looked for a more reliable solution and for that, she started to measure intelligence through the neurological density in the cortex. For this, she used the brain of the species, dissolved it in a solution and from there, counted the neurons.
Suzana Herculano-Houzel's technique is not possible with dinosaurs
While it's not possible to do the same with dinosaur brains, Herculano-Houzel found an opportunity. in a database that demonstrated that birds and mammals had a higher density in the cortex than reptiles.
Birds are related to the group that included T.rex dinosaurs, so Herculano-Houzel decided to test comparative anatomy tricks to find out about T.rex density.
The search
Based on brain masses from CT scans of dinosaur skulls and access to the database of previously cited data, an equation was developed based on brain mass and the number of neurons. And so she discovered the neuronal density of several species of dinosaurs.