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We all know dinosaurs are pretty amazing, but what was the smartest dinosaur? In this blog post, we’ll be counting down the top 10 smartest dinosaurs! From carnivores to herbivores, these creatures were definitely intelligent in their own ways.
Before we conclude the final smartest dinosaur list, let’s first look at in what way we can know the level of intelligence of dinosaurs.
How to measure dinosaur intelligence?
The smartest dinosaur on this top 10 list is based on the size of the brain in proportion to the dinosaur’s head and the possible density of said brain.
In fact, there is no chance for us to get back to the prehistorical world to conduct an EQ test for each dinosaur. Measuring intelligence and knowing which one is the smartest dinosaur is not easy.
Source by: Only Dinosaurs
However, most experts agree that herbivores are not as smart as carnivores. This is because they did not have to be as wary of predators and could afford to spend more time grazing and less time thinking about escape strategies. That being said, there were certainly some herbivores that were quite intelligent.
Some dinosaurs have received higher rankings on the brain capacity scale. However, the largest dinosaurs are believed to have been less intelligent than the smaller dinosaurs. Let’s begin to see what was the smartest dinosaur?
A quick preview of top 10 smartest dinosaurs:
Smartest Dinosaur Top 10: Maiasaura
Maiasaura was a Duck-billed Herbivore. Its name comes from the Greek as “good mother lizard,” because the fossil record that Maiasaura parents cared for their offspring.
In a study conducted by Horner and colleagues, it was found that adult Maiasaura dinosaurs returned to the same nesting spot year after year, proving that they had enough intelligence to remember the place and appreciate its favorable character.
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In terms of its relative brain to body weight, Maiasaura was an ornithopod with a level of intelligence that was average compared to other dinosaurs. Despite all this, It can be regarded as the smartest dinosaur with the highest EQ among herbivorous dinosaurs.
Smartest Dinosaur Top 9: Ornithomimus
Ornithomimus means the “bird mimic”. Paleontologists are convinced that Ornithomimus, a bird-like creature that lived during the Mesozoic Era, was probably as intelligent as a modern ostrich. This would make it one of the smartest creatures to have ever existed.
Source by: Tom Parker
Ornithomimus means the “bird mimic”. Paleontologists are convinced that Ornithomimus, a bird-like creature that lived during the Mesozoic Era, was probably as intelligent as a modern ostrich. This would make it one of the smartest creatures to have ever existed.
Ornithomimus had a large brain for its tiny head and this is thought to mean that it had one of the highest intelligence levels of all dinosaurs as with other theropods. It had hollow bones to help keep its weight down so that it was able to move fast.
Smartest Dinosaur Top 8: Allosaurus
Approximately 150 million years ago, Allosaurus, the top predator in North America, existed. The names Allosaurus and Sauros are both derived from the Greek words allos, which means “different” or “other,” and sauros (“lizard”).
A huge amount of fossil records have been collected by Paleontologists. That’s why a huge fossil database is available for Allosaurus’ research.
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Juvenile Allosaurus might use different hunting strategies from adults, maybe pursuing tiny animals as juveniles before switching to ambush hunting for larger species as they became older. This suggests this smartest dinosaur’ s intelligent decisions.
Smartest Dinosaur Top 7: T-Rex
The king of dinosaurs is coming!
The fossil record of T. rex’s brain reveals that it was an extremely intelligent and sophisticated creature. The size and position of its openings for the eyes, ears, and nose indicate that it had finely tuned senses which enabled it to survive in its environment.
Source by: Only Dinosaurs
Despite the fact that we’ll never be able to know for sure how intelligent T. rex was, relative brain size does seem to correlate with intelligence. What this means is that bigger brains are generally associated with high intelligence levels.
Carnivores are hunter-gatherers. They usually do, whether scavengers or predators. T. rex was built to move considerably faster than the horned dinosaurs that could have been its prey. Don’t let this most intelligent dinosaur catch you! Another little-known feature of T-Rex is that despite the short legs, T-Rex could swim， it is also on the list of Top 8 Swimming & Water Dinosaurs.
Smartest Dinosaur Top 6: Teratophoneus
The biggest Dromaeosauridae member is Utahraptor ostrommaysi. Greek for “running lizard,” the Dromaeosauridae phylum, is a dinosaur that has been discovered to have robust leg bones and muscle attachments.
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They are pack animal and have developed hunting techniques for small prey, making U.ostrommaysi one of the smartest dinosaurs. The Utahraptor had an EQ of 5.8, which was in line with Dromaeosaurids. It mainly hunted smaller dinosaurs, lizards, and other small reptiles and mammals.
Smartest Dinosaur Top 5: Oviraptor
Oviraptor is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. Its name means “egg seizer” or “egg thief”.
The research team discovered that in terms of brain volume, non-avian dinosaurs such as Oviraptorids and Troodontids, actually had larger ratio of brains to body size when compared to the members of the Tyrannosaur family. That is to say, although this dinosaur’s intelligence cannot override modern birds, it still has a bigger brain than many other reptiles.
Source by: Only Dinosaurs
In 1923, the first fossil record of Oviraptor was collected from the Djadokhta Formation in Mongolia. Since then, scientists have been trying to understand the evolutionary path of this smartest dinosaur.
Smartest Dinosaur Top 4: Velociraptor
Remember Velociraptor in the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World? it seems able to be intelligent but not able to open the door by itself. The picture below is a baby velociraptor puppet made by Only Dinosaurs. You will love it after watching Jurassic World Dominion.
Source by: Only Dinosaurs
So, Is Raptor the smartest dinosaur?
In comparison to other dinosaurs, velociraptors were extraordinarily intelligent. Its brain was proportionally large, which is surprising given its small body size. It likely had a high level of intelligence, which helped it survive in the wild.
They ranked among the smartest creatures on the planet and may even have been smarter than rabbits. Even though they were not as smart as cats and dogs, they were still quite smart.
Smartest Dinosaur Top 3: Compsognathus
One of the Coolest Dinosaurs to Ever Lived on Earth compsognathus was a prehistoric creature that thrived in the Late Jurassic period.
According to a larger proportion theory, that is, dinosaurs with brain cavity in small body size might possess higher intelligence.
Compsognathus was once considered the smallest dinosaur with a body length of around 4 ft (1.25 m) and a weight of around 5.5 lbs (2.5 kg). It’s also on the list of 10 Unique Small Dinosaurs [+ 4 Interesting FAQs About Them]. In this regard, there is no doubt that Compsognathus stand in the top three places.
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By the way, this intelligent dinosaur had short arms with two clawed fingers on each hand. In 1859, Compsognathus fossils were discovered at the site. It was one of the most complete fossils to be found at the time, and it amazed scientists.
Smartest Dinosaur Top 2: Deinonychus
What is the second smartest dinosaur? Deinonychus, a related cousin of Velociraptor, was believed to be the silver medal winner of the intelligence competition. Look at this feathered Deinonychus in the picture below, you might have a more clear image. It might be hard for you to believe it is the original model of the Velociraptor in Jurassic Park. It doesn’t matter. Deinonychus has high intelligence!
Source by: Only Dinosaurs
Deinonychus was one of the smartest dinosaurs. Its brain to body weight ratio was significantly higher than any other species of dromaeosaurid. This suggests that Deinonychus was unusually intelligent for its size.
Scientists have agreed that modern birds are living dinosaurs. In fact, this intelligent dinosaur inspired the theory that some birds may have descended from dinosaurs.
Smartest Dinosaur Top 1: Troodon
The Troodon was one of the most intelligent dinosaurs in the world. Canadian paleontologist Dale Russell speculated that Troodon might have become the smartest monster if the K-T extinction event hadn’t wiped out dinosaurs.
If you google “Which dinosaur had the biggest brain?”, the result will also be Troodontids. Troodon was a relatively small carnivorous dinosaur that stood 1.2 meters (4 feet) tall and 5.4 to 6.1 meters (17 to 20 feet) long. It was most likely feathered and weighed about 35 kg (77 pounds). Troodon has possessed an especially big brain for its size speculated from its big eyes, blazing speed, and stereo vision.
Source by: Only Dinosaurs
These intelligent dinosaurs had brains that were as large as a human’s. It is no wonder that Troodon is regarded as Albert Einstein in the late Cretaceous period.
Now you have a full understanding of the question “What Was the Smartest Dinosaur?”. Hope the top 10 smartest dinosaurs listed above will make you become more knowledgeable about the prehistoric world.
