One of the most odd antediluvian animals is the Camarasaur, whose fossilized rests have proven it had three brains: one in the cranial cavity, one in neck base, in the vertebra placed on the front legs, and a third one in the sacrum.
The three brains were placed in A, B, and C, as depicted in the header image.
So forceful was the journal Around the World in its edition of July 1920. In the article, they refer to the Camarasaurus, a longneck dinosaur just discovered. The analysis of the cranium showed that the size of its brain was "small" and they did not understand how such a big animal could live with that brain.
This way the theory of certain dinosaur having more than a brain arises, after the Camarasaurus case. An extra brain was also added to the Stegosaurus. Apart from the one in the cranium, it was said the Stegosaurus had another one in the hip. These theories were rejected with the scientific progress, but for a long time it was believed this way.
A lot has changed since, and the vision we have about dinosaurs now is very different. But it's interesting to know what the paleontologist thought in the past centuries. We will write in this blog about new anecdotes and visions from the paleontologists of the past.Finally, I will transcribe another fragment of the article:
The brain in the head only chaired the functions of the vision, hearing, smelling, and tasting, and maybe the feeling of the ego. (…) the second chaired the functions of the body and the front legs, and the third the back legs and the huge tail.
Illustrations: Alrededor del Mundo Magazine (Around the World Journal).
Crania picture: witmerlab.wordpress.com
Source: Alrededor del Mundo Journal. Number 1099, from July 12, 1920.
Germán Z. López
This post can also be read in Spanish at our partner blog Made in Pangea.
