Scientists recreate a dinosaur brain!

Thecodontosaurus

Generally, most people think dinosaurs were not very smart and consequently their brains were not very big. This is largely true. None the less dinosaurs did have functional cognitive abilities that made their survival possible, until the earth changed and became unsuitable for them about 65 million years ago, possibly after a large meteor hit our planet. One of the dinosaurs that lived in what is today Britain which was about as big as a large dog is called Thecodontosaurus. Scientists have reconstructed its brain using computers and have discovered some interesting facts about this long dead animal.

Antonio Ballell, a PhD student at the University of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences, explains some of their findings: "Our analysis showed parts of the brain associated with keeping the head stable and eyes and gaze steady during movement were well-developed. This could also mean Thecodontosaurus could occasionally catch prey, although its tooth morphology suggests plants were the main component of its diet. It's possible it adopted omnivorous habits." (Scientists digitally rebuilt this dinosaur's brain and made some surprising discoveries)

In other words, Thecodontosaurus walked on two legs and sometimes ate meat, along with plants which were its main food source. It also had stable vision when it ran, which helped it to catch prey and escape from larger predators.