Theropod Dinosaurs

The idea of sapient theropod dinosaurs, often nicknamed “dinosauroids”, has captured the imagination since the idea was first utilized by Aritsune Toyota’s 1977 novel A Shadow of the Past (Kaneko, 1997) and later popularized by Sagan (1977). In recent years, the focus of this concept has shifted away from the anachronistically anthropomorphic lizard-men of speculations past, and toward more feasible hypotheses consistent with the avian nature of Mesozoic theropods, particularly maniraptorian coelurosaurs. Consequently, the prospect of finding fossil evidence of dinosauroids should be based on current knowledge of theropod paleobiology, with respect to observational evidence of social and technological intelligence of modern birds. The ultimate

Under the definition of Jones & Kamil (1973), “tool” in this case refers to an intentional extension of the animal’s body using physical object. Therefore, the act of a theropod dinosaur simply dropping the prey item onto a sharp rock to kill it, much as modern eagles and vultures drop bones and tortoise shells onto hard surfaces to crack them upon, does not qualify as direct tool use. If, however, the dinosaur were to fashion a stick into a spear to impale its victim, then it would qualify as a tool use (Alcock, 1972). Various forms of simple spears, blades, ropes, and lures are used by a plethora of modern birds, including birds of prey, herons, owls, parrots, and passerines (van Lawick-Goodall & van Lawick-Goodall, 1966; Higuchi, 1986; Levey et al., 2004). The later group, particularly the families Corvidae (crows, magpies, jays, etc.) and Fringillidae (true finches), demonstrates the most advanced examples of tool-making culture, in which younglings are taught the crafts by their elders and are encouraged to seek out more efficient materials (Millikan & Bowman, 1967; Hunt, 1996; Tebbich et al., 2004). Many tool-using birds exhibit the ability to count up to six using true numerical ability, as well as limited conceptualizations of self-awareness, language, object permanence, and theory of mind that pave the way for the evolution of comprehension and empathy (Hoh, 1998; Smirnova et al., 2000; Watye et al., 2002; Tebbich & Bshary, 2004; Emery, 2006; Pepperberg, 2006; Clayton et al., 2007; Raby et al.,