Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagBrain size (and brain capacity)

a-trio-of-woolly-mammoths-trudges-over-snow-covered-hills-behind-them-mountains-with-snow-covered-peaks-rise-above-dark-green-forests-of-fir-trees-3d-rendering-stockpack-adobe-stock
A trio of woolly mammoths trudges over snow covered hills.  Behind them, mountains with snow covered peaks rise above dark green forests of fir trees. 3D Rendering

Did Small Brains Doom the Mammoth and the Giant Armadillo?

A recent study showed that survivors had brains that were 53% larger, which was perhaps useful in avoiding predators

A recent study of mammal extinctions during and after the Ice Age found that the large mammals (megafauna) that went extinct during the period of 115,000 years ago through 500 years ago (the Late Quaternary) had smaller brains in relation to body mass than those that survived: The researchers explain that the last Ice Age was characterized by the widespread extinction of large and giant animals on all continents on earth (except Antarctica). Among these were, in America, giant ground sloths weighing 4 tons, a giant armadillo weighing a ton, and mastodons; in Australia the marsupial diprotodon weighing a ton, giant kangaroos, and a marsupial ‘lion’; and in Eurasia giant deer, woolly rhinoceros, mammoth, and giant elephants weighing up to Read More ›