Brain Cast of the Jurassic Mammal Hadrocodium, Reconstructed from CT Scanning of its Skull (IMAGE)
Caption
The brain cast of the Jurassic mammal Hadrocodium, reconstructed from CT scanning of its skull. Purple: brain; Pink: olfactory bulb for smell. Although the external features of Hadrocodium have been known, it is the latest CT study that has revealed characteristics of its brain. Hadrocodium has a large brain relative to its body weight. Its brain is very large for its ancient geological age (190 million years). The external features of its brain are already comparable to those of modern mammals, such as the opossum (above). The Jurassic mammals already have large olfactory bulb for a sophisticated sense of smell.
Credit
Computed Tomography (CT) images from the CT laboratory of Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas. Images by Dr. Matthew Colbert/University of Texas.
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