First known fossilized dinosaur brain unearthed, scientists claim
Fall into swamp probably helped preserve tissue
By Meghan Rosen
SALT LAKE CITY — Dinosaur smarts may be a mystery, but their brains, at least, are now more concrete.
A chunk of petrified brain tissue discovered in a tidal pool in southern England is the first reported from a dinosaur, researchers claim.
The roughly 133-million-year-old fossil preserves the brain’s wrinkled topology, said paleontologist David Norman, who presented the find October 27 at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.
“There are pits and creases and folds,” said Norman, of the University of Cambridge. “It’s a little bit like your bed when you wake up in the morning — somewhat crinkled and folded.”