An international team of researchers has conducted a groundbreaking study utilizing high-resolution 3D imaging techniques, including micro-CT scans, to reconstruct the brain shapes of over 30 species. These species range from pterosaurs and their relatives to early dinosaurs and bird precursors, modern crocodiles, and various Triassic archosaurs.
Reconstruction of the landscape from the late Triassic period, approximately 215 million years ago. A Lagelpetidae, a relative of pterosaurs, perches on a rock and observes a pterosaur flying overhead. Image credit: Mateus Fernández.
The earliest known pterosaurs, dating back approximately 220 million years, were already adept at powered flight. This ability subsequently evolved independently in paraavian dinosaurs, a group that encompasses modern birds and their non-avian relatives.
Flight is a complex locomotion type that necessitates physiological adaptations and significant changes in body structure, including alterations in body proportions, specialized coverings, and the enhancement of neurosensory capabilities.
While birds and pterosaurs exhibit distinct skeletal and covering adaptations for flying, it is suggested that they may share neuroanatomical features linked to aerial movement.
“Our findings bolster the evidence that the enlarged brain observed in modern birds, and possibly their ancient ancestors, didn’t drive the flight abilities of pterosaurs,” stated Dr. Matteo Fabbri from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
“Our research indicates that pterosaurs achieved flight early in their evolution and did so with relatively small brains, akin to flightless dinosaurs.”
To explore whether pterosaurs gained flight differently than birds and bats, researchers examined the evolutionary tree of reptiles to understand the evolution of pterosaur brain shape and size, seeking clues that may have led to the emergence of flight.
They particularly emphasized the optic lobe, an area crucial for vision, whose growth is believed to correlate with flying ability.
The team focused on pterosaurs’ closest relatives through CT scans and imaging software capable of retrieving information about the nervous systems of fossils, specifically examining Ixarelpeton, a flightless arboreal species from the lagerpetide family that existed in Brazil around 233 million years ago.
Dr. Mario Bronzati from the University of Tübingen noted: “The brains of Lagerpetidae exhibited features linked to enhanced vision, like enlarged optic lobes, which might have equipped pterosaur relatives for flight.”
“Pterosaurs had larger optic lobes as well,” Fabbri added.
However, aside from the optic lobes, there were minimal similarities in brain shape and size when comparing pterosaurs to their closest flying reptile relatives, the Lagerpetidae.
“Some similarities suggest that the flying pterosaurs, which arose shortly after Lagerpetidae, may have acquired flight capabilities swiftly during their origin,” Fabbri explained.
“In essence, the pterosaur brain underwent rapid changes from the start, acquiring all necessary adaptations for flight.”
“Conversely, modern birds are believed to have inherited specific traits from their prehistoric predecessors, such as an expanded cerebrum, cerebellum, and optic lobes, gradually adapting them for flight over time.”
This theory is reinforced by a 2024 study highlighting the brain’s cerebellum expansion as a pivotal factor for bird flight.
The cerebellum, located at the brain’s rear, regulates and coordinates muscle movements, among various functions.
In further research, the scientists examined the brain cavities of fossil crocodilians and early extinct birds, comparing them to those of pterosaurs.
They discovered that pterosaur brains had moderately enlarged hemispheres that resembled those of other dinosaurs, contrasting with modern birds’ brain cavities.
“Discoveries in southern Brazil provide remarkable new insights into the origins of major animal groups such as dinosaurs and pterosaurs,” remarked paleontologist Dr. Rodrigo Temp Muller from the Federal University of Santa Maria.
“With every new fossil and study released, our understanding of what the early relatives of these groups looked like becomes increasingly clear—something we couldn’t have imagined just a few years ago.”
“In future studies, gaining a deeper understanding of how pterosaur brain structure, along with its size and shape, facilitated flight will be crucial for unveiling the fundamental biological principles of flight,” Fabbri stated.
The results were published in the journal Current Biology.
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Mario Bronzati et al. Neuroanatomical convergence between pterosaurs and nonavian parabirds in the evolution of flight. Current Biology published online on November 26, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.10.086
Source: www.sci.news
