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Holly Chik

Horned dinosaurs saw a decline in their intelligence, hearing and sense of smell as they grew larger over the course of 100 million years, according to a study by researchers in China and the United States.
And the scientists said human evolution could follow a similar trajectory if we become too reliant on technology.
“The sense of smell in early-diverging ceratopsians is more sensitive than in Protoceratops [a Late Cretaceous dinosaur in Asia] and late-diverging ceratopsids.
“Early-diverging ceratopsians had higher hearing frequencies than ceratopsids and non-avian theropods,” the researchers wrote in an article published in the peer-reviewed journal Paleobiology in October.
“The early horned dinosaurs bear relatively large brain volumes, even higher than most extant reptiles.”
The scientists explained that while these functions helped the dinosaurs escape their predators when they were smaller, as they grew larger, they became less useful.
Ceratopsians, known for their frills and horns, were herbivorous dinosaurs that lived in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
Early ceratopsians walked on two legs and measured one to two metres (3.3 to 6.6 feet) in length. For example, Psittacosaurus and Yinlong, meaning “hiding dragon” in Chinese. While Yinlong did not have large horns or frills, it had a raised and triangular-shaped skull common to ceratopsians.
But by the late Cretaceous period, after nearly 100 million years of evolution, ceratopsians walked on four legs and measured up to nine metres (29.5 feet) long. For example, Triceratops evolved to be able to fight Tyrannosaurus rex.


In the new study, the researchers from the China University of Geosciences, the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and George Washington University performed CAT scans to produce images and analyse brain cavities of dinosaur skull fossils, from which they could reconstruct brain sizes.
Study author Han Fenglu, an associate professor at the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan, said as ceratopsians grew in size, they also developed features such as armour-like coverings to defend themselves against carnivorous dinosaurs and other predators.
“As they grew bigger, the vulnerability of becoming prey decreased. The environment became safer for them than their smaller predecessors who were always alert to threats and relied on speed or agility to escape.
“When the functions that helped dinosaurs stay vigilant were not used as frequently, they degraded,” he said, adding that the sense of smell and hearing were essential for detecting approaching predators.
Using modern animals as examples, Han said carnivorous predators, particularly those that live in groups like lions, exhibit a relatively high level of intelligence to facilitate social coordination and hunting.
In contrast, herbivores, such as bison and zebras, may not require as much intelligence, as their survival primarily hinges on satisfying their hunger and evading predators. The survival odds for most group members during a hunt are high when only one or two animals are targeted, he said.
As for humans, Han said being too reliant on technology might degrade our abilities.
“We can hardly return to living in the jungle or savannah after adapting to modern society. We should consider how to maintain our sharpness in our senses and other capabilities as we evolve,” he said.
“People have become increasingly dependent on technologies with the rise of mechanisation and artificial intelligence. It may be difficult to adapt if we suddenly find ourselves without these tools.
“These findings of dinosaurs remind us not to become too dependent,” he said. “While dinosaurs had no control over their evolution, humans, with our advanced brains, should be able to manage our behaviours and choices.”


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Science

A study has found that ceratopsians, a type of herbivorous dinosaur such as this Protoceratops, had reduced intelligence, hearing and sense of smell as they evolved into larger creatures. Photo: Shutterstock

Big head, big teeth, big implications: early hominid from China stirs new species debate

Bone fragments from several individuals at the Xujiayao site in China are challenging long-held assumptions about the region’s fossil record. Photo: Wu Xiujie

Recent discoveries and new analyses are painting an increasingly complex story of human evolution in China and Southeast Asia. Image: Handout

The nine Xujiayao teeth fossils used in the study. Photo: Handout

Fossil fragments from Xujiayao and a virtual reconstruction of a cranium. Photo: Handout

Chinese women wore tank tops, transparent outfits 800 years, Song dynasty find suggests

Chinese scientists have created a digital reconstruction of a wealthy woman’s clothing from the Southern Song dynasty. Photo: Wuhan Textile University

A moxiong, similar to a modern-day tank top, discovered in noble lady Huang Sheng’s tomb, who died in 1243. Photo: Wuhan Textile University

China builds a machine capable of laying submarine cables in the Challenger Deep

China has built the world’s first machine capable of laying submarine cables in the Challenger Deep, the deepest known place on Earth. Photo: Dalian Maritime University

The Mariana Trench is one of the most inaccessible places on the planet, but now the Chinese Haiwei GD11000 cable can reach this remote seabed. Photo: Dalian Maritime University

Meet the small band of dinosaur experts who are pushing palaeontology forward in Hong Kong

Michael Pittman, life science assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, shows a 3D-printed dinosaur bone model. Photo: Edmond So

A dinosaur skeleton from the late Cretaceous period is excavated in Patagonia by a team led by Argentine palaeontologist Diego Pol and Michael Pittman. Photo: Handout

Fion Ma has joined Michael Pittman in searching for fossils in the Gobi Desert. Photo: Handout

Lung Tak-chun cleans fossils. He has also designed learning materials for the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education. Photo: Handout

This small ground beetle is rekindling debate on Darwin’s theory of evolution

This tiny Loricera beetle has remained virtually unchanged for at least 100 million years, according to a Chinese-led study. Photo: Shutterstock

Scientists studied Cretaceous-period examples of Loricera beetles that had been preserved in amber, finding that they were virtually identical to modern Loricera beetles. Photo: Cell.com 

Charles Darwin put forward his theory of evolution in the 1859 book, On the Origin of Species. Photo: Shutterstock

News

China

A new Chinese-led study into the evolution of dinosaurs has offered a timely warning to our technology-reliant world


A new Chinese-led study into the evolution of dinosaurs has offered a timely warning to our technology-reliant world.


Archaeology and palaeontology