Lucky break: Prophaethon shrubsolei, an ancient tern-like tropical seabird, had a surprisingly advanced brain. Experts say this hints that the birds which survived the mass extinction event that killed the rest of the dinosaurs did so because their more advanced brains allowed them to adapt to new environments.
Credit: Natural History Museum, London
The analysis revealed that the ancient brains were surprisingly similar to those of living birds today.
The 55-million-year-old skulls showed similar developments to modern birds in the part of the brain called the 'wulst', which controls sight, flight and the ability to learn and remember. This hints that after the cataclysm that sent many other species extinct, these birds were "better equipped to deal with challenging physical conditions," said Milner.
John Long, a palaeontologist at the Museum of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, said the research reveals "that bird brains underwent a rapid evolution from the brains of dinosaurs, and then became more or less fixed in overall shape and form once the specialised neurosensory functions for flight were developed."
Long, who was not part of the team behind the research, added that this significant study highlights the real value of museum collections and shows how "cutting-edge technology is now revealing the hidden secrets of fossils we have had lying around in museums for many years."
