Brazilian researchers reconstructed the first complete brain of one of the world’s oldest dinosaurs, according to a recent study.
The brain belongs to Buriolestes schultzi — a carnivorous dinosaur that walked the earth during the Triassic period, over 230 million years ago. At just 1.5 grams, it’srelatively small in size, but great in impact within the field of paleontology.
“Our knowledge on the anatomy of the first dinosaurs (Late Triassic, 235–205 Ma) has drastically increased in the last years,” write the researchers, who are from Universidade Federal de Santa Maria and Universidade de São Paulo. “Nevertheless, some structures such as the neurocranium…remain poorly known…This study helps to fill this gap.”
Much of the reason scientists have been unable to reconstruct dinosaur brains in the past is because it’s rare to unearth skulls with complete “braincases,” or protective bone that once surrounded the brain.
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SOURCE: USA Today, Wyatte Grantham-Philips
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