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T-Rex may not have big brain energy — but it might have been smarter than previously thought

NPR

Published January 19, 2023 at 12:52 PM EST

A Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur fossil skeleton is displayed in a gallery at Christie’s auction house on September 17, 2020 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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For decades we’ve thought of the Tyrannosaurus Rex as enormous and terrifying, though not particularly intelligent. But according to a growing body of research, including a new study from the Journal of Comparative Neurology, “Jurassic Park” and all of us have had it wrong. The dinosaur of our nightmares might have been a lot smarter than we thought.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talks with Suzana Herculano-Houzel, an associate professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University. She is the lead researcher on the study.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.