signalmankenneth
Verified User
T Rex may have had brain capable of using tools and passing knowledge to kin, study claims
The giant predatory dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex may have had “flexible cognition” that would place it in the realms of modern day tool-using and culture-building birds and primates, according to a new study.
The research, published recently in the Journal of Comparative Neurology, found that T rex may have had “baboon-like numbers of brain neurons” that would have made them not only giant predators but also brainy creatures.
Study author Suzana Herculano-Houzel from Vanderbilt University in the US says this level of brain neurons may have given the predatory dinosaur the potential abilities to solve problems and even build some tools.
With these abilities, she says the dinosaur may have lived up to 40 years, “enough to build a culture”.
“A culture is any body of knowledge and technology that gets passed down across generations and built upon. The more cognitively capable you are and the longer you live, the more opportunities to build one – and both come with more neurons,” Dr Herculano-Houzel explained in a tweet.
In the new research, the study’s sole author Dr Herculano-Houzel used data on modern-day birds and reptiles to estimate how number of neurons scales with increasing brain mass.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/t-rex-brains-tools-knowledge-sharing-b2262881.html
The giant predatory dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex may have had “flexible cognition” that would place it in the realms of modern day tool-using and culture-building birds and primates, according to a new study.
The research, published recently in the Journal of Comparative Neurology, found that T rex may have had “baboon-like numbers of brain neurons” that would have made them not only giant predators but also brainy creatures.
Study author Suzana Herculano-Houzel from Vanderbilt University in the US says this level of brain neurons may have given the predatory dinosaur the potential abilities to solve problems and even build some tools.
With these abilities, she says the dinosaur may have lived up to 40 years, “enough to build a culture”.
“A culture is any body of knowledge and technology that gets passed down across generations and built upon. The more cognitively capable you are and the longer you live, the more opportunities to build one – and both come with more neurons,” Dr Herculano-Houzel explained in a tweet.
In the new research, the study’s sole author Dr Herculano-Houzel used data on modern-day birds and reptiles to estimate how number of neurons scales with increasing brain mass.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/t-rex-brains-tools-knowledge-sharing-b2262881.html