A team of paleontologists from the University of Bristol and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History has the brains of this Thecodontosaurus antiquus, a species of small sauropodomorphic dinosaur that lived some 205 million years ago (late Triassic era), and found that this dinosaur may have eaten meat, was bipedal, and had adaptations to maintain a stable head and gaze while moving .
Life recovery from Thecodontosaurus antiquus. Image credit: Mario Lanzas / CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Our analysis of Thecodontosaurus antiquus“brain discovered many fascinating features, some of which were quite surprising,” said lead author Antonio Ballell Mayoral, a Ph.D. student at the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol.
“While its later relatives moved heavily on all fours, our findings suggest that this species walked on two legs and was occasionally carnivorous.”
Using CT scanning, the researchers created detailed 3D models of Thecodontosaurus antiquusbrain and previously invisible anatomical details identified.
“Even though the actual brain has long since disappeared, the software allows us to mimic the shape of the brain and inner ear through the dimensions of the retained cavities,” said Ballell Mayoral.
‘The brainpan of Thecodontosaurus antiquus has been beautifully preserved, so we compared it to other dinosaurs, identifying common features and some specific to Thecodontosaurus antiquus. “
“The brain deposition even showed details of the floccular lobes, located at the back of the brain, that are important for balance. Their large size indicates it was bipedal. “
This structure is also associated with the control of balance and eye and neck movements, suggests Thecodontosaurus antiquus was relatively manoeuvrable and could maintain a stable look while moving quickly. “
Braincase and endocast from Thecodontosaurus antiquus. Image credit: Antonio Ballell / BioRender.com / PhyloPic.org.
Scientists were also able to view the inner ears of it Thecodontosaurus antiquus, which allowed them to estimate how well it could hear compared to other dinosaurs.
The dinosaur’s hearing rate was relatively high, indicating a kind of social complexity – an ability to recognize different beeps and honks from different animals.
“Our analysis showed that areas of the brain related to keeping the head and eyes and gaze stable during movement were well developed,” said Ballell Mayoral.
This could mean too Thecodontosaurus antiquus could occasionally catch prey, although tooth morphology suggests that plants were the most important part of its diet. It is possible that it has adopted omnivorous habits. “
“It’s great to see how new technologies are enabling us to learn even more about how this little dinosaur lived more than 200 million years ago,” said senior author Professor Mike Benton, a paleontologist in the School of Earth Sciences. at the University of Bristol. .
The findings are published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
_____
Antonio Ballell et al. The brain, brain, and paleobiology of the basal sauropodomorphic dinosaur Thecodontosaurus antiquus. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, published online December 14, 2020; doi: 10.1093 / zoolinnean / zlaa157