Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Archaeopteryx brain scan


Modern medical technology has made it possible to study old anatomies.

Computerized tomography, or CT scanning can be used on fossils to study their internal structure. CT scans of the brain case of an Archaeopteryx skull shows that this transitional form between reptiles and birds had a brain region associated with vision that made up almost 1/3 of the brain’s volume.

The lobes associated with hearing and muscle coordination were also well-developed. The ratio of brain volume to body mass is higher than that associated with modern reptiles but a bit less than that for modern birds, more evidence for the intermediate position Archaeopteryx occupies between birds and reptiles.

CT scans also showed that the structure of the inner ear of Archaeopteryx more closely resembles tat of modern birds than reptiles.

In sum, it appears that Archaeopteryx had well developed senses of hearing, balance, and sight, traits that support the hypothesis that Archaeopteryx was capable of flight.

The photo is from http://digimorph.org/specimens/Archaeopteryx_lithographica/ check it out to rotate it and examine the skull from other angles.

Sources:

Science News Aug. 7, 2004, p. 166

Timothy B. Rowe, Nature, August 5, 2004

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