The T. Rex Was Not as Smart as a Monkey, Like We Were Led to Believe: Study

This comes after a 2023 study hyped T. rex up as a primate-level genius based on its estimated neuron count. Now, an international team of scientists has thrown some serious shade on that theory. They went full investigation on T. rex, analysing everything from bones to behaviour to debunk the whole myth.

“The possibility that T. rex might have been as intelligent as a baboon is fascinating and terrifying, with the potential to reinvent our view of the past”, concluded Dr Darren Naish. “But our study shows how all the data we have is against this idea. They were more like smart giant crocodiles, and that’s just as fascinating.”

So how did scientists arrive at this conclusion? The new study took a holistic approach, examining T. rex's entire physique – skeletons, tissues, even fossil footprints – alongside existing brain data. They also re-evaluated brain size estimates based on skull shape. Turns out, those earlier calculations overestimated the size of the forebrain, a crucial area for complex thought. Apparently, dino skulls had a lot of extra fluid that previous studies mistook for brain matter.

On top of that, the new study found the high neuron count estimations were a bit inflated. While neuron count does correlate with body size, when considered alongside all the other evidence, T. rex's cognitive abilities seem to be more in line with, well, a crocodile.

So, where does this leave our tyrannosaur friend? Well, being a "reasonably smart lizard" is nothing to scoff at. And these legendary hunters likely had their own set of awesome skills, even if they didn't involve solving complex math problems.

T​he findings of this study have been detailed in The Anatomical Record and can be accessed here.

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