Dinosaur vision
Dinosaur vision was, in general, better than the vision of most other reptiles, although vision varied between dinosaur species. Coelurosaurs, for example, had good stereoscopic or binocular vision, whereas large carnosaurs had poor binocular vision, comparable to that of modern alligators.
Theropoda
Allosauroidea
Allosauroids, including Carcharodontosaurus[1] and Allosaurus, did not have very good binocular vision, comparable to modern crocodiles.[2]
They possessed binocular vision which was restricted to a region only 20° wide, which is understandable, as they hunted mostly large and slow prey. Their keenest sense was probably smell.
Deinonychosauria
The binocular vision of
deinonychosaurs, such as Velociraptor and Stenonychosaurus was better than that of allosauroids and it matched or exceeded that of extant predatory birds. Their binocular field was up to 60°.[2]
Tyrannosauridae
The position of the eyes of
Tyrannosaurus rex was similar to that of modern humans, but their eyes and optic lobe were much larger than that of modern humans. T. rex, unlike most dinosaurs, had a combination of powerful eyesight and a great sense of smell. The binocular vision of Daspletosaurus has been found to be less than that of Stenonychosaurus, but more than that of Gorgosaurus.[2]
Ceratosauria
Ceratosaurs had eyes placed closer to the side. This widened their field of vision, but decreased their depth perception.[citation needed
]
Ornithischia
Pachycephalosauria
Pachycephalosaurs, like most of the plant-eaters, had eyes on the sides of the head, so they could quickly spot approaching predators. They also had better depth perception than most other dinosaurs [citation needed
]
References
- ISBN 0-253-33907-3.
- ^ doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[321:BVITD]2.0.CO;2. Archived from the original(PDF) on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
External links
- Interactive Dracorex skull
- Dinosaur senses in Australian Museum
- Dinosaur vision, BBC, 10 December 2010.
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