Scientists Question Claim , That T. Rex Was as Smart, as Modern Monkeys.<br />'Gizmodo' reports that a team of researchers <br />recently investigated claims that the Tyrannosaurus rex <br />could have been as smart as monkeys.<br />Last year, a paper was published in the journal <br />'Comparative Neurology,' which claimed that theropods like <br />Tyrannosaurus rex had a “monkey-like” numbers of neurons.<br />According to that paper, this would have made <br />the Tyrannosaurus rex "not only giant but also <br />long-lived and endowed with flexible cognition.”.<br />The new paper specifically referenced the previous paper <br />and argues that theropods probably had “significantly <br />lower neuron counts than previously proposed.".<br />According to the team, neuron count <br />and brain size are “flawed” proxies for <br />measuring an ancient species’ intelligence.<br />We argue that it’s not good <br />practice to predict intelligence <br />in extinct species when neuron <br />counts reconstructed from <br />endocasts are all we have to go on, Kai Caspar, a biologist at Heinrich Heine University <br />Düsseldorf and the study’s lead author, via 'Gizmodo'.<br />The possibility that T. rex might <br />have been as intelligent as a baboon <br />is fascinating and terrifying, <br />with the potential to reinvent <br />our view of the past, Darren Naish, Paleozoologist at the University of <br />Southampton and co-author of the paper, via 'Gizmodo'.<br />The possibility that T. rex might <br />have been as intelligent as a baboon <br />is fascinating and terrifying, <br />with the potential to reinvent <br />our view of the past, Darren Naish, Paleozoologist at the University of <br />Southampton and co-author of the paper, via 'Gizmodo'.<br />But our study shows how <br />all the data we have is against <br />this idea. They were more <br />like smart giant crocodiles,<br />and that’s just as fascinating, Darren Naish, Paleozoologist at the University of <br />Southampton and co-author of the paper, via 'Gizmodo'.<br />'Gizmodo' reports that even if Tyrannosaurus rex <br />wasn't as intelligent as a modern monkey, <br />it was still a terrifying creature. .<br />The fearsome predator also has an outsized <br />presence in popular culture, leading theropods <br />to attract a high degree of interest.
