Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
New research takes us inside the brain of a 230-million-year-old animal! Scientists used 3D technology and mathematical modeling to reconstruct the brains of pterosaurs and their pre-flight ancestors, the lagerpetids. They found that pterosaur brains had a uniquely large flocculus—a part of the brain that helps control gaze stabilization.
Mario Bronzati, Akinobu Watanabe, Roger B.J. Benson, Rodrigo T. Müller, Lawrence M. Witmer, Martín D. Ezcurra, Felipe C. Montefeltro, M. Belén von Baczko, Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar, Julia B. Desojo, Fabien Knoll, Max C. Langer, Stephan Lautenschlager, Michelle R. Stocker, Alan H. Turner, Ingmar Werneburg, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Matteo Fabbri. Neuroanatomical convergence between pterosaurs and non-avian paravians in the evolution of flight. Current Biology, 2025; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.10.086
#ScienceFacts #Biology #Pterosaurs #Prehistoric #CTScan #research
Funding support for this research was provided by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Brazilian Federal Government, The Paleontological Society, Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Técnica, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, the European Union NextGeneration EU/PRTR, the National Science Foundation (NSF DEB 1754596, NSF IOB-0517257, IOS-1050154, IOS-1456503), and the Swedish Research Council.
New research takes us inside the brain of a 230-million-year-old animal! Scientists used 3D technology and mathematical modeling to reconstruct the brains of pterosaurs and their pre-flight ancestors, the lagerpetids. They found that pterosaur brains had a uniquely large flocculus—a part of the brain that helps control gaze stabilization.
Mario Bronzati, Akinobu Watanabe, Roger B.J. Benson, Rodrigo T. Müller, Lawrence M. Witmer, Martín D. Ezcurra, Felipe C. Montefeltro, M. Belén von Baczko, Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar, Julia B. Desojo, Fabien Knoll, Max C. Langer, Stephan Lautenschlager, Michelle R. Stocker, Alan H. Turner, Ingmar Werneburg, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Matteo Fabbri. Neuroanatomical convergence between pterosaurs and non-avian paravians in the evolution of flight. Current Biology, 2025; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.10.086
#ScienceFacts #Biology #Pterosaurs #Prehistoric #CTScan #research
Funding support for this research was provided by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Brazilian Federal Government, The Paleontological Society, Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Técnica, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, the European Union NextGeneration EU/PRTR, the National Science Foundation (NSF DEB 1754596, NSF IOB-0517257, IOS-1050154, IOS-1456503), and the Swedish Research Council.
