01-12-2023, 05:18 PM
https://futurism.com/the-byte/t-rex-smart-monkeys
The tyrannosaurus rex was the apex of all apex predators in its heyday over 65 million years ago, known more in pop culture for its ferocity than its smarts. But according to a new study, we may have been underestimating how intelligent these towering tyrants were this whole time.
In fact, compared to the intelligence of their peers, the T-Rex and other theropods — three clawed, bipedal dinosaurs — may have been the "primates of their time," said neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel, author of the study published in the Journal of Comparative Neurology, in a video about her research.
According to her findings, theropods had as many neurons in their brains as monkeys do today, with the T-Rex boasting "baboon-like" numbers of up to 3 billion neurons. That's a pretty scary level of intelligence for a killing machine the size of a house.
Wow, this is surprising . But I suppose it sort of makes sense: birds often show themselves to be smarter than we give them credit for, and they're the only living descendants of the dinosaurs - so perhaps we're underestimating their intelligence too?
Does make me wonder what if the (non-avian) dinosaurs had survived, and eventually achieved an even higher level of intelligence .
The tyrannosaurus rex was the apex of all apex predators in its heyday over 65 million years ago, known more in pop culture for its ferocity than its smarts. But according to a new study, we may have been underestimating how intelligent these towering tyrants were this whole time.
In fact, compared to the intelligence of their peers, the T-Rex and other theropods — three clawed, bipedal dinosaurs — may have been the "primates of their time," said neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel, author of the study published in the Journal of Comparative Neurology, in a video about her research.
According to her findings, theropods had as many neurons in their brains as monkeys do today, with the T-Rex boasting "baboon-like" numbers of up to 3 billion neurons. That's a pretty scary level of intelligence for a killing machine the size of a house.
Wow, this is surprising . But I suppose it sort of makes sense: birds often show themselves to be smarter than we give them credit for, and they're the only living descendants of the dinosaurs - so perhaps we're underestimating their intelligence too?
Does make me wonder what if the (non-avian) dinosaurs had survived, and eventually achieved an even higher level of intelligence .
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