Evolution: Brainier Birds

Peter J Makovicky; Sushma Reddy

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.025

Evolution: Brainier Birds

Curr Biol. 2020 Jul 6;30(13):R778-R780. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.025.

Authors

Peter J Makovicky¹, Sushma Reddy²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 116 Church St SE, 150 John T. Tate Hall, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. Electronic address: pmakovic@umn.edu.
² Bell Museum of Natural History and Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 35A Skok Hall, 2003 Upper Buford Circle, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA. Electronic address: sreddy@umn.edu.

PMID: 32634422
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.025

Abstract

A groundbreaking study of brain evolution across birds and dinosaurs reveals potential drivers of increased brain size including biogeography and ecology. The most dramatic change occurred in the Neoaves after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction rather than earlier in bird evolution.

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MeSH terms

Animals
Biological Evolution
Birds
Brain
Dinosaurs* / anatomy & histology
Fossils*
Organ Size
Phylogeny