Brown pebble found by fossil hunter is shown to be petrified dinosaur brain
A “BROWN pebble” spotted by a fossil hunter in Sussex more than a decade ago has been confirmed as the first known example of a petrified dinosaur brain.
The specimen is thought to have come from a large plant eater such as Iguanodon, which lived about 133 million years ago.
Scientists believe the dead dinosaur’s head was buried in mud at the bottom of a swamp, allowing its brain to be “pickled” and preserved.
In time the soft tissues became mineralised, but the fossil retained distinctive features such as the meninges – a protective membrane surrounding the brain – blood vessels, collagen and structures thought to represent the outer layer of nerve cells, or cortex. A detailed study of the “pebble” has revealed similarities with the brains of present-day birds and crocodiles, both close relatives of dinosaurs.
Dr Alex Liu, from Cambridge University’s Department of Earth Sciences, who took part in the analysis, said: “The chances of preserving brain tissue are incredibly small, so the discovery of this specimen is astonishing.”
The find’s importance was first recognised by the late Professor Martin Brasier, from Oxford University.