Study: Ancient Pig-like Animal Shows Early Brain Development
2024-07-02
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1Researchers say a new study on an ancient pig-like animal is helping them learn more about brain development in mammals.
2The animal is known as Gordonia.
3It is believed to have lived more than 250 million years ago in what is present-day Scotland.
4Back then, Scotland was part of a sandy desert.
5Today, it receives a lot of rain and enjoys four seasons.
6Gordonia was known as a protomammal - a predecessor of mammals.
7The creature lived during the Permian Period. Some protomammals kept some qualities of their reptile ancestors.
8An international group of researchers used high-quality, 3D imaging equipment to examine a Gordonia fossil.
9This permitted the team to make a digital copy of the animal's brain.
10The researchers said this led them to learn new details about the size and shape of the brain in early mammal development.
11The team recently released their findings about the fossil in a study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
12The lead writer of the study was doctoral student Hady George, who attends Britain's University of Bristol.
13She told Reuters news agency, "Overall, Gordonia's brain looks more like a reptile than a mammal despite it being more closely related to us than any modern living reptile."
14The researchers noted that the animal's brain was very different from those of modern mammals.
15However, the size of its brain compared to its body seemed to suggest the beginning of gains in intelligence seen later on in mammals and humans.
16George said the front of Gordonia's brain - called the forebrain - is comparatively much smaller than any other mammal.
17Another leader of the research was Steve Brusatte, a scientist at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
18He told Reuters the brain the team studied was not as circular as a human brain.
19Rather, it is shaped more like "a long, arched tube."
20Brusatte noted that upon close examination, the researchers realized the animal's brain was "pretty big compared to the size of the body."
21He added that it is difficult to measure intelligence in modern-day humans.
22So it is even more difficult to measure this in long-disappeared animals.
23"But we can at least say generally that it would have been a smart creature for its time," Brusatte said.
24The researchers estimated Gordonia was about one meter long, weighing 20 kilograms.
25The animal's head was tall and wide, with a pointed mouth and tusks to help it eat desert plant material.
26It had a pig-like build, but its legs were not as long as a pig's, they noted.
27Gordonia belonged to a group of protomammals called dicynodonts.
28The group survived the worst mass extinction in Earth's history 252 million years ago at the end of the Permian Period.
29The extinction event is thought to have been caused by extreme volcanic activity.
30Scientists believe the first dinosaurs began appearing about 230 million years ago, while mammals came about around 20 million years later.
31I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Researchers say a new study on an ancient pig-like animal is helping them learn more about brain development in mammals. 2The animal is known as Gordonia. It is believed to have lived more than 250 million years ago in what is present-day Scotland. Back then, Scotland was part of a sandy desert. Today, it receives a lot of rain and enjoys four seasons. 3Gordonia was known as a protomammal - a predecessor of mammals. The creature lived during the Permian Period. Some protomammals kept some qualities of their reptile ancestors. 4An international group of researchers used high-quality, 3D imaging equipment to examine a Gordonia fossil. This permitted the team to make a digital copy of the animal's brain. The researchers said this led them to learn new details about the size and shape of the brain in early mammal development. 5The team recently released their findings about the fossil in a study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 6The lead writer of the study was doctoral student Hady George, who attends Britain's University of Bristol. She told Reuters news agency, "Overall, Gordonia's brain looks more like a reptile than a mammal despite it being more closely related to us than any modern living reptile." 7The researchers noted that the animal's brain was very different from those of modern mammals. However, the size of its brain compared to its body seemed to suggest the beginning of gains in intelligence seen later on in mammals and humans. George said the front of Gordonia's brain - called the forebrain - is comparatively much smaller than any other mammal. 8Another leader of the research was Steve Brusatte, a scientist at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He told Reuters the brain the team studied was not as circular as a human brain. Rather, it is shaped more like "a long, arched tube." 9Brusatte noted that upon close examination, the researchers realized the animal's brain was "pretty big compared to the size of the body." 10He added that it is difficult to measure intelligence in modern-day humans. So it is even more difficult to measure this in long-disappeared animals. "But we can at least say generally that it would have been a smart creature for its time," Brusatte said. 11The researchers estimated Gordonia was about one meter long, weighing 20 kilograms. The animal's head was tall and wide, with a pointed mouth and tusks to help it eat desert plant material. It had a pig-like build, but its legs were not as long as a pig's, they noted. 12Gordonia belonged to a group of protomammals called dicynodonts. The group survived the worst mass extinction in Earth's history 252 million years ago at the end of the Permian Period. The extinction event is thought to have been caused by extreme volcanic activity. 13Scientists believe the first dinosaurs began appearing about 230 million years ago, while mammals came about around 20 million years later. 14I'm Bryan Lynn. 15Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 16__________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18mammal - n. an animal that feeds its babies on milk from its body 19predecessor - n. a person or thing that existed before another 20three-dimensional (3D) - adj. having or appearing to have length, depth and height 21fossil - n. something (such as a leaf, skeleton, or footprint) from a plant or animal that lived in ancient times and that you can see in old rocks 22tube - n. a long, think container with a round center 23arched - adj. something that has a curved shape like an arch 24tusk - n. one of two long, pointed teeth that come out of the mouth of some animals 25extinct - adj. not existing anymore
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