How Intelligent Were Dinosaurs?

No direct way of measuring intelligence in extinct animals exists. Doing so in living animals is often difficult and controversial. Paleontologists commonly try to estimate intelligence in dinosaurs by comparing the size of the brain to the size of the body, a measure called the encephalization quotient. But incomplete fossils commonly complicate measuring the brain size, and accurately determining body mass is also difficult.
Nonetheless, by measuring the size of the brain cavity in available dinosaur skulls, it's clear that some dinosaurs had relatively larger brains (meaning encephalization quotients) than others and that dinosaurs' brains were not unusually small compared to those of living reptiles, such as crocodiles, turtles and lizards. Does this mean they were equally intelligent? Not necessarily. For example, Neanderthals have larger brains than we do, but few would argue that they were more intelligent than we are.
One can also examine the organization of the three main parts of the brain: the stem, which regulates heartbeat, respiration and other functions; the cerebellum, which coordinates muscle movements; and the cerebrum, which is involved with complex sensory functions and memory. Enlargement and more complexity in these regions suggest enhanced abilities that might be associated with intelligence. The cerebrum and cerebellum are relatively large in birds, which are living dinosaurs, and mammals. This implies enhanced sensory capabilities and memory. In Velociraptor and its close relatives, the cerebrum and cerebellum appear large and bird-like, possibly indicating enhanced abilities. All in all, some dinosaurs were probably about as intelligent as primitive birds, such as modern ostriches, but not as intelligent as more advanced birds, whose brains are even larger and more complex.
This video is part of a series, "Dinosaurs Explained," produced by the American Museum of Natural History. In the series, Museum paleontologists answer the most frequently asked questions about dinosaurs.
To watch the videos, go to www.amnh.org/explore/amnh-tv. Click on the "Dinosaurs Explained" Tab on the left side of the page. In the playlist, start with the first question and play each video consecutively for a mini-course in dinosaur fossils.

[@cursedalien]

Birds, which are living dinosaurs, tend to have very densely-packed neurons compared to mammals.

[@theUnmeshraj]

It's been 10 years, do you have the answer now?

[@creatura6376]

It's said that the smartest dinosaur, Troodon, was only about as smart as a cat. I doubt cat-intelligence would be the max for a dinosaur. Take modern birds. Many are able to do impressive things- like opening locks, solving puzzles, even 'talking'. I'm sure even a few dinosaurs would reach a similar length of intelligence (probably lower on the spectrum, but still up there). I'm no expert, but it's not conclusive to say how smart a dinosaur would be only using it's brain size as a way to tell.

[@superzilla784]

What a lot of people need to quit doing is thinking brain size equals brain complexity. the size of the brain does not equal how intelligent a creature is. Gorillas have brains bigger than ours, does that mean they are smarter than us? there's a lot of "Scientific Facts" I call complete bullshit on because of how little they make sense. such as "T-Rex was a scavenger, not a hunter" simply because there's more records of T-Rex picking off the dead than records of it killing other dinosaurs. what if a kill was hard to come by since most herbivores stayed in groups and the T-Rex was outnumbered 10 to 1? that doesn't mean it was a pure scavenger, it just picked off the dead because it was easier and safer than attacking prey in large groups. look at modern crocodiles. we see them scavenge off the dead. does that mean they are pure scavengers? I guess all those videos of crocs grabbing their prey and dragging it into the water were staged. no, I don't spend hours every day studying the fossils like these scientists do, but they make dinosaurs sound so weak and stupid that a Chimpanzee would kick T-Rex's ass by itself. I compare dinosaurs to modern day animals, not to the scratches I find in their bones. because there was a lot more to dinosaurs than what the fossil records say.

[@leonardomachado9423]

It's also important adding that it's said that most theropods were as smart as sparrows. That was hardly the case, since almost all terrestrial chordate predators depend on their intelligence to hunt prey. Take lions, wolves and crocodiles (one of the closest modern-day relatives to dinosaurs, who hasn't changed in millions of years) for example. These animals have a respectable intelligence when compared to their prey. Well, snakes are an exception, but that only shows us how diverse the Earth's ecosystems are and how many levels of intelligence exist among animals. Besides, even boas have been seen opening doors, and they're one of the dumbest carnivores we know, so yes, raptors COULD open doors if they had the right limbs, since they were at least smarter than snakes.

[@IndriidaeNT]

Yeah, I really do remember the Troodon being smart.

[@Ujjwalkumar-je3me]

Ohvo Infinity The troodon being as intelligent as a cat is a Exaggeration. Troodon wasn't that intelligent. Now the way you are looking at cats is completely wrong. Cats can use their environment, learn and can even obey orders. Now here's the reason why Dinosaurs weren't that itelligent.And for the ones who don't Understand comparing a T rex to a Lion Tiger or Alligator is actually stupidity. People assume that dinosaurian Intelligence was limited because we have a lot of evidence for that. Now here are all my points 1) If we look at the history of Earth animals got more intelligent over time. Synapsids and rausuchians were Outsmarted by Non avian Dinosaurs and those Dinosaurs were Outsmarted by modern Mammals. In short mammals are living on this Earth long before dinosaurs evolved and ruling the earth after they are gone. No2 ) Dinosaurs died 65 million years ago but Birds survived for next sixty five Million years to enhance their intelligence. We have very good cet scans Of Allosaurus Brains that show they were behaving in similar manner to Crocodiles, T rex on the other hand was more intelligent than that but still Would not have been as intelligent as a rabbit. No3 ) Does that mean dinosaurs were dumb NO! You don't need a big brain for having complex behavior. Crocodiles have very small brains for their body size but they have Maternal Care, Occasionally do Coordinated Pack hunting and can even Vocalize. Dinosaurs were not even as intelligent as cats. But when you say Scientist are dump then you need to realize that these are the only people that actually made dinosaur Renaissance possible. Transforming those ( even more stupid) lizards into dynamic animals.

[@hxshxt3530]

Years in the future when human beings becomes extinct, the next intelligent creatures will conclude that we were dumb too. How sad.

[@zwinkyecstasy]

Their existential suffering then will be even worse than that of humans 😂😪

[@bigmatthews666]

@@zwinkyecstasy Maria how much crack do you Smoke

[@ElvisFerbeyre]

I hope there's enough evidence leftovers of our technology to make them realize we were not dumb.

[@BrandonCoronado-pc2bv]

We would be dead if dinosaurs were still alive on this day

[@PAPPADASH]

Veloci Raptees are pretty smart

[@jackma77]

*We don't know yet!* There, I Saved you 1 minute... that'll be 60 dollars 💵

[@TheLyricsGuy]

Do you accept debit or paypal?

[@nojmoj8261]

They say humanoids got so smart by consuming bone marrow. Fully teethed t-rex, with those little hands must have had alot of protein if you know what i'm getting at. We know even turtles can develop complicated relationships, and grief, long memory etc. Maybe they were smarter or as smart as we. I mean the conditions for life where much better then, higher rate of oxygen in the air, allowed animals to be bigger than today.

[@Ujjwalkumar-je3me]

More oxygen means bigger animals are you out of your mind . More oxygen means bigger insects Not big Birds or Reptiles. And in general T rex was as smart as a Mouse or may be a Rabbit at most. Their are articles about The rex being as Smart as Chimps. Which if you ask any Paleantologists they will tell is an Exaggeration .

[@gr33nman]

JacksInn -- There is no such thing as a dumb question, but you'll be much more self-empowered when you do your own research. I can tell you CAT is an acronym for "Computed Axial Tomography", but what have you really learned? Not a lot. Why not look it up? Google "CAT SCAN". Why be lazy when the whole answer is just a few clicks away? You'll learn a lot more, and people won't give you snarky (albeit funny :D ) answers like the one proposed by TheDragonlineage.

[@7b0ne]

yep that's true! that's why we still stick on fossil energy :/

[@Robert-ry6xe]

What he said has nothing to do with fuel...5 years later. lol

[@theUnmeshraj]

Leave him alone... 5 years later. lol

[@JacksInn]

Why is it called cat scan? Are only cats able to do the scanning?

[@JacksInn]

:O

[@catha86]

I know how to solve the problem. I am a genius. Answer: Less of the senses means smarter brain. Very simple. The more intelligence you have to survive the less you have to use your senses. I told you I am a genius.

[@Panda_436]

xD puff puff pass buddy