The remains of aampelosaurus found in 2007 in the Lo Hueco deposit (Cuenca)have allowed the r3D econstruction of the animal’s brain, which has turned out to be extraordinarily small, according to an investigation in which the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) has participated and which publishes the journalPLOS ONE.
The ampelosaurus belongs to the group of sauropods, large dinosaurs that came to colonize large areas of the planet during the Mesozoic Era (between 253 million years ago and 66 million years ago). Specifically, it is atitanosaurium, a group of dominant herbivores in the last half of the Cretaceous, that is, the last phase of the Mesozoic.
The first sauropods emerged about 160 million years before the appearance of ampelosaurus. However, despite being the fruit of a long evolution, the ampelosaurus brain does not show any remarkable development. The researcher at the National Museum of Natural Sciences of the CSIC Fabien Knoll, co-author of the work, assures that “this saurian could have been up to 15 meters long, however,his brain did not occupy more than 8 centimeters“. For the CSIC researcher,” the increase in brain size has not been favored during the evolution of sauropods. “
Another of the outstanding characteristics of the brain reconstruction of the Cuenca saurian is the small size of its inner ear. According to Knoll, “this could indicate that the ampelosaurus would not be adapted to move quickly neither the eyes, nor the head, nor the neck”.
New species?
So far, only one species of this genus is known,Ampelosaurus atacis, which was discovered in France. However, the differences between the Spanish and French fossils do not exclude the possibility that they could be two different species. Knoll believes that “more remains would be necessary to ensure that it is a new species.” Therefore, the team has classified the horse asAmpelosaurus sp., which leaves its identification open at a specific level.
