Artist’s concept of
Shuvuuia deserti, a dinosaur that, while small, had very efficient night vision and hearing. Image via Viktor Radermaker/ SciTechDaily.
There are many modern-day nocturnal predators, animals that hunt at night under cover of darkness, including barn owls, bats, leopards and hyenas. But what about 100 million years ago, during the time of the dinosaurs? Were there any nocturnal beasts roaming around in the dark way back then? New research suggests there were.
Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed senses of hearing, smell, and specially adapted eyesight. Scientists at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg have announced a new fossil analysis with evidence that two different species of theropods – three-toed, bidepal carnivorous dinosaurs – displayed these kinds of advanced nocturnal abilities.
New research shows that a small dinosaur called Shuvuuia deserti, that lived in the deserts of what's now Mongolia, had exceptional night vision and hearing, similar to modern day owls and other night predators.
Chicken-sized dinosaur hunted at night
The odd little dinosaur dubbed Shuvuuia had incredible hearing and vision.
A little dinosaur called Shuvuuia may have hunted in the dark using night vision and super hearing.
This chicken-sized therapod lived in the deserts of what is now Mongolia. Its skeleton has a seemingly fragile bird-looking skull and brawny arms with only a single claw. It also had long roadrunner-like legs.
The team of researchers, led by Jonah Choiniere and James Neenan of the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, found the length of the Shuvuuia’s lagena (a cochlea-like organ birds have to process incoming sound) was very similar in relative size to the barn owl, which is an excellent night hunter with extraordinary hearing.
True or False? Owls Inherited Their Night-hunting Abilities From Dinosaur Published May 7th, 2021 - 05:48 GMT
(Shutterstock/ file)
Study shows: Owls may have inherited their night-hunting abilities from dinosaurs
New research suggests a small bird-like dinosaur s exacting night vision and owl-like hearing allowed it to track down prey in the black of night.
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Nocturnal hunting is relatively rare among predators, as it requires specialized sensory abilities many of the best night-hunters are birds, including owls, nightjars, nighthawks and more.
Because modern birds are the closest living relatives of the dinosaurs, scientists have previously surmised that the night-hunting capabilities of owls and other nocturnal birds might be inherited from their theropod ancestors.
A TINY dinosaur that lived in the desert had extraord-inary vision and owl-like hearing that enabled it to hunt in the dark, new research has found. Scientists have long wondered whether theropod dinosaurs – the group that gave rise to modern birds – had sensory adaptations similar to those of birds which enable them to hunt prey at night. A new study sought to investigate how the vision and hearing abilities of dinosaurs and birds compared and discovered that a theropod named Shuvuuia, part of a group known as alvarezsaurs, had both extraordinary hearing and night vision. The international team of researchers used CT scanning and detailed measurements to collect information on the relative size of the eyes and inner ears of nearly 100 living bird and extinct dinosaur species.