Dinosaur_vision Knowpia

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 edit

Allosauroidea edit

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 edit

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 edit

The position of the eyes of tyrannosaurids suggests that they had a very well developed sense of vision. Combined with the shape of the head they had better binocular vision than allosauroids. The eye position 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 edit

Ceratosaurs had eyes placed closer to the side. This widened their field of vision, but decreased their depth perception.^{[citation needed]}

Ornithischia edit

Pachycephalosauria edit

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 edit

^ Larsson, HCE (2001). "Endocranial anatomy of Carcharodontosaurus saharicus (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) and its implications for theropod brain evolution". In Tanke, DH; Carpenter, K (eds.). Mesozoic vertebrate life. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 19–33. ISBN 0-253-33907-3.
^ ^a ^b ^c Stevens, Kent A. (12 June 2006). "Binocular vision in theropod dinosaurs" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 26 (2): 321–330. 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.