Scientists have discovered that flightless dinosaurs initially had brains developed for flying before flying species even existed.
Dinosaurs reportedly contained brains that were similar to that of Archaeopteryx, believed to be the first bird which lived a 150 million years ago, according to Telegraph.com.
This would mean flightless dinosaurs played a bigger evolutionary role than previously believed.
Scientists now believe the enlarged bird-like brain is huge indication that dinosaurs helped paved the way for modern birds seen around the world today.
"Archaeopteryx has always been set up as a uniquely transitional species between feathered dinosaurs and modern birds, a halfway point," said lead scientist Dr. Amy Balanoff, from the American Museum of Natural History in New York, according to Telegraph.com.
Scientists used CT scanners to study brain cases of modern birds, archaeopteryx, and a number of flightless dinosaurs.
The scanners are similar to those found in a common hospital.
X-ray pictures allowed scientists to reconstruct the skills interiors to scale to study the brain volume and important locations where the brain might have been enlarged according to Telegraph.com.
"If Archaeopteryx had a flight-ready brain, which is almost certainly the case given its morphology, then so did at least some other non-avian dinosaurs," said Dr. Balanoff.
The bird-like oviraptorosaurs and troodontids actually had brains larger than Arachaeopteryx according to Balanoff.
Even though the term "bird brain" is seen as a negative phrase used as slang to call someone stupid, birds actually have very large brains when compared to their small bodies.
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