Bird brains of the Jurassic

By PZ Myers
archaeopteryx endocast

You gotta love modern technology. Using computed tomography, investigators have done high resolution imaging of the fossilized cranium of Archaeopteryx lithographica, plucking out a virtual reconstruction of the creature's brain. This allows them to do some detailed comparative gross neuroanatomy, looking to see whether there are signs here of the transition from terrestrial crawler to aerial flyer.





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