A new dinosaur species may be described, and its brain shape commented on the size or shape of the brain may be analysed across a subgroup of dinosaurs, such as theropods. Most studies thus far, however, have been incremental. It has also been found that some species had particularly large or tiny brain regions corresponding to certain senses and behaviours, such as olfaction and balance. ![]() This has revealed that dinosaurs had a variety of brain shapes and sizes, and that while their brain sizes relative to body sizes were generally in the ‘reptilian’ zone of modern animals, some species (like advanced bird-like theropods) had much larger brains (and thus likely intelligence) than previously thought. Over the last few decades, computed tomographic (CT) scanning of dinosaur skulls has unlocked the potential to study dinosaur neuroanatomy. ![]() Much less is known, however, about the brains, sensory systems, and intelligence of dinosaurs, because brains and sensory organs do not normally fossilize. The anatomy, genealogy, and lifestyles of dinosaurs have been the subject of intensive study, and we have a good understanding of how many species moved, ate, and reproduced. ![]() Dinosaurs are iconic animals because of their long evolutionary history, the immense sizes of some species, and the many ways in which they adapted to an ever-changing world in the Mesozoic (ca.
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