Dinosaur vision

In general, dinosaurs were thought to have better vision than most other reptiles, but the accuracy of this general rule can vary wildly between species. Coelurosaurs, for example, had good stereoscopic or binocular vision, whereas large carnosaurs had poor binocular vision, comparable to that of modern alligators.

Theropoda

Carnosauria

Most Carnosaurs, including Carcharodontosaurus^[1] and Allosaurus, did not have very good binocular vision, comparable to modern alligators.^[2] They possessed binocular vision which was restricted to a region only 20° wide, which is understandable, seeing as they hunted mostly large and slow prey. Their keenest sense was probably smell.

Deinonychosauria

Deinonychosaurs, like Troodon^[2] and Deinonychus, had better binocular vision than carnosaurs. Their binocular field was up to 60°.^[2]

Tyrannosauridae

Among coelurosauria, tyrannosauroidea have the best eyesight.^[2] The position of their eyes suggests that they had a very well developed sense of vision.

We know that Tyrannosaurus rex's position of the eyes were 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 great sense of smell.

Ceratosauria

Ceratosaurs had eyes placed closer to the side. This widened their field of vision, but decreased their depth perception.

Pachycephalosaurs

Pachycephalosaurs, like most of the plant-eaters, had eyes on the sides of its head, so it could quickly spot approaching predators. It also had depth perception.

References

↑ P.Larsson (2001). Endocranial anatomy of Carcharodontosaurus saharicus. Indiana University Press.
1 2 3 4 Kent A. Stevens (2006). Binocular Vision in Theropod Dinosaurs. University of Oregon. External link in |title= (help)

External links

Vision in animals

Vision	Birds Cats Chameleons Dinosaurs Dogs Fishes Horses Toads

Eyes	Arthropod eye Compound eye Eagle eye Eye shine Simple eye in invertebrates Mammalian eye Human eye Mollusc eye Cephalopod eye Gastropod eye Holochroal eye Parietal eye Schizochroal eye

Evolution	Evolution of the eye Evolution of color vision Evolution of color vision in primates

Coloration	Albinism in biology Animal coloration Aposematism Camouflage Chromatophore Counter-illumination Countershading Crypsis Deimatic behaviour Disruptive coloration Eyespot (mimicry) Mimicry Structural coloration Underwater camouflage

Related topics	Animal senses Blindness in animals Eyespot apparatus Feature detection Infrared sensing in snakes Monocular deprivation Ommatidium Palpebral (bone) Pseudopupil Rhopalium Underwater vision Visual perception

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