Scientists Argue over Intelligence of T. Rex
2024-05-07
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A group of scientists has disputed a study published last year that estimated the intelligence of the dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex to be similar to a baboon's.
2The group disputed last year's report from Suzana Herculano-Houzel at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
3It said the study did not use studies of reptiles like crocodiles and alligators to explain dinosaur brains.
4Zoologist Kai Caspar is with the Heinrich Heine University in Germany.
5Caspar was the lead author of the new study published in The Anatomical Record.
6Speaking of dinosaurs like T. rex, he said "their neuron numbers were likely not exceptional, especially for animals of their body mass."
7But Herculano-Houzel stands by her research.
8She said her work studied the "brain to body-size relationship" of modern-day theropod relatives such as ostriches and chickens.
9The brain size and number of neurons of those animals, she said, support her theory.
10A theropod is a group of dinosaurs that includes T. rex.
11She said only one issue is being disputed: "What was actually the size of dinosaur brains. Even then, we're talking about the difference between a T. rex brain being baboon or monkey sized."
12Caspar said his research group also considered modern birds.
13"Reptiles are certainly not as dim-witted as is commonly believed," he said.
14Speaking of T. rex, he noted: "it was certainly a behaviorally sophisticated animal."
15Caspar said he had additional concerns about Herculano-Houzel's research.
16One issue, he said, is that while humans, baboons, other mammals and even birds have brains that fill the space protected by the skull, "this is not the case for reptile species."
17He noted the brain of reptiles fills only about 30 to 50 percent of the space.
18He also said it is not known how many neurons, or brain cells, were present in dinosaur brains.
19"Looking at living animals, we see that neuron counts are actually not a good indicator of intelligence in the first place," Caspar added.
20Caspar noted the study from 2023 assumed the brain filled the whole skull, which, he said, "was certainly not the case."
21Scientists have been learning about dinosaurs for about 200 years.But much remains to be discovered.
22Thomas Holtz is the co-author of the new study.
23He studies dinosaurs at the University of Maryland.
24He said estimating the intelligence of animals that lived over 60 million years ago is difficult.
25"It would be nice if we could just estimate one number and unravel the whole complexity of an animal's biology and lifestyle, but nature isn't like that," Holtz said.
26He said T. rex probably had an intelligence level somewhere between that of birds and reptiles.
27"Many of our common assumptions don't really hold up when you...examine what real animals do in the real world," he said.
28I'm Dan Friedell.
1A group of scientists has disputed a study published last year that estimated the intelligence of the dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex to be similar to a baboon's. 2The group disputed last year's report from Suzana Herculano-Houzel at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. It said the study did not use studies of reptiles like crocodiles and alligators to explain dinosaur brains. 3Zoologist Kai Caspar is with the Heinrich Heine University in Germany. Caspar was the lead author of the new study published in The Anatomical Record. 4Speaking of dinosaurs like T. rex, he said "their neuron numbers were likely not exceptional, especially for animals of their body mass." 5But Herculano-Houzel stands by her research. 6She said her work studied the "brain to body-size relationship" of modern-day theropod relatives such as ostriches and chickens. The brain size and number of neurons of those animals, she said, support her theory. 7A theropod is a group of dinosaurs that includes T. rex. 8She said only one issue is being disputed: "What was actually the size of dinosaur brains. Even then, we're talking about the difference between a T. rex brain being baboon or monkey sized." 9Caspar said his research group also considered modern birds. 10"Reptiles are certainly not as dim-witted as is commonly believed," he said. Speaking of T. rex, he noted: "it was certainly a behaviorally sophisticated animal." 11Caspar said he had additional concerns about Herculano-Houzel's research. One issue, he said, is that while humans, baboons, other mammals and even birds have brains that fill the space protected by the skull, "this is not the case for reptile species." He noted the brain of reptiles fills only about 30 to 50 percent of the space. 12He also said it is not known how many neurons, or brain cells, were present in dinosaur brains. 13"Looking at living animals, we see that neuron counts are actually not a good indicator of intelligence in the first place," Caspar added. 14Caspar noted the study from 2023 assumed the brain filled the whole skull, which, he said, "was certainly not the case." 15Scientists have been learning about dinosaurs for about 200 years. But much remains to be discovered. 16Thomas Holtz is the co-author of the new study. He studies dinosaurs at the University of Maryland. He said estimating the intelligence of animals that lived over 60 million years ago is difficult. 17"It would be nice if we could just estimate one number and unravel the whole complexity of an animal's biology and lifestyle, but nature isn't like that," Holtz said. 18He said T. rex probably had an intelligence level somewhere between that of birds and reptiles. 19"Many of our common assumptions don't really hold up when you...examine what real animals do in the real world," he said. 20I'm Dan Friedell. 21Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by Reuters. 22_______________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24reptile -n. a class of animals with backbones which lays eggs, is covered with scaly skin, and has a low body temperature 25neuron -n. a special cell of the nervous system of many animals 26stand by -v. (phrasal) to support or to continue to support although there is opposition 27dim-witted -adj. not intelligent 28sophisticated -adj. extremely smart or complex 29species -n. a group of animals or plants that can have young with one another and is a group smaller than a genus 30skull -n. the bones of the head 31indicator -n. something that shows the presence of something else 32assume -v. to think that something is true without knowing or confirming it completely 33unravel -v. to come apart or to take something apart in an effort to understand it 34We want to hear from you. Do you think T. rex was smarter than an alligator or as smart as an Ostrich?