Fossil braincases, which once housed the brain and other neurosensory tissues, are uncommon but crucial for science since these structures can provide insights into the way of life of an offered animal. The inner ears can hint to acoustic capabilities and skull orientation.
The fossil remains of this dinosaur currently belonged to the collection of the Institute for Paleontology in Vienna in the 19th century. For their research study, Marco Schade (University of Greifswald), Cathrin Pfaff (University of Vienna) and their colleagues took a look at the tiny (50 mm) braincase to reveal brand-new details of the anatomy and lifestyle of Struthiosaurus austriacus.
The outcomes of this study show that Struthiosaurus brain was really similar to the brains of its close loved ones. For example, the flocculus, an evolutionary old part of the brain, was very little. The flocculus is very important for the fixation of the eyes throughout movements of the head, neck and entire body, which can be really useful if such an animal was attempting to target prospective competitors or assailants. “In contrast to its Northamerican relative Euoplocephalus, which had a tail club and a clear flocculus on the brain cast, Struthiosaurus austriacus might rather relied on its body armor for defense,” says Marco Schade. Together with the kind of the semicircular canals in the inner ear, this tips towards an exceptionally sluggish way of life of this Austrian plant eater. The researchers discovered the– so far– quickest lagena of a dinosaur. The lagena is the part of the inner ear where audition happens and its size can help to infer acoustic capacities. This research study provides new insights into the evolutionary history of dinosaurs and their world, in which Europe was largely immersed in the ocean.
Reference: “Neuroanatomy of the nodosaurid Struthiosaurus austriacus (Dinosauria: Thyreophora) supports potential environmental differentiations within Ankylosauria” by Marco Schade, Sebastian Stumpf, Jürgen Kriwet, Christoph Kettler and Cathrin Pfaff, 7 January 2022, Scientific Reports.DOI: 10.1038/ s41598-021-03599-9.
Austrian and german researchers took a closer look at the braincase of a dinosaur from Austria. Ankylosaurs might grow up to eight meters in body length and represent a group of herbivorous dinosaurs, also called living fortresses: Their body was jumbled with bony plates and spikes. The fossil remains of this dinosaur already belonged to the collection of the Institute for Paleontology in Vienna in the 19th century. The scientists found the– so far– shortest lagena of a dinosaur.
Life reconstruction of the dinosaur Struthiosaurus austriacus from the Late Cretaceous of Austria. Credit: © Fabrizio De Rossi
Fossil braincase supplies brand-new surprising insights.
German and Austrian scientists took a more detailed take a look at the braincase of a dinosaur from Austria. The group took a look at the fossil with a micro-CT and found surprising brand-new details: it was sluggish and deaf. The particular research study got recently released in the clinical journal Scientific Reports.
Ankylosaurs might grow up to 8 meters in body length and represent a group of herbivorous dinosaurs, likewise called living fortresses: Their body was jumbled with bony plates and spikes. Some of their agents, the ankylosaurids in some cases had a club tail, while nodosaurids had extended spikes on their necks and shoulders. Nevertheless, some aspects of their way of life are still puzzling.
While numerous dinosaurs likely lived in groups, a minimum of some ankylosaurs appeared to choose a lonely life because of an inferior sense of hearing. Thats what the scientists from the universities of Greifswald and Vienna concluded when they examined the braincase of the Austrian dinosaur with a high-resolution computer tomograph to produce a digital three-dimensional cast.
