A proxy for brain‐to‐endocranial cavity index in non‐neornithean dinosaurs and other extinct archosaurs

Abstract

Although the brain fills nearly the entire cranial cavity in birds, it can occupy a small portion of it in crocodilians. The lack of data regarding the volumetric correspondence between the brain and the cranial cavity hampers thorough assessments of the degree of encephalization in non‐neornithean dinosaurs and other extinct archosaurs and, consequently, informed inferences regarding their cognitive capacities. Existing data suggest that, across extant archosaurs, the degree of endocranial doming and the volume of intracranial nonneural components are inversely related. We build upon this information to develop an equation relating these two anatomical features in non‐neornithean dinosaurs and other extinct archosaurs. We rely on measurements of the endocast doming and brain‐to‐endocranial cavity (BEC) index in extant relatives of non‐neornithean dinosaurs, namely, the crurotarsans Caiman crocodilus, Crocodylus niloticus, and Crocodylus porosus; the paleognaths Struthio camelus and Apteryx mantelli; and the fowl Macrocephalon maleo, Gallus gallus, Meleagris gallopavo, Phasianus colchicus, and Anas platyrhynchos. Applying the equation to representative endocasts from major clades of dinosaurs, we found that BEC varies from about 0.6 in ceratopsians and thyreophorans to around 0.7 in ornithopods, pachycephalosaurians, sauropods, and theropods. We, therefore, warn against the use of a catch‐all value, like 0.5, and instead encourage refinement in the adoption of BEC across archosaurs.