Is there any reasonable consensus amongst scientists as to whether it’s likely that you could hypnotise T Rex by drawing a line in front of it, as you can do to a chicken? What about decapitating it in the right way and having it run around like a mad thing for a couple of hours like a correctly decapitated chicken?
Similarly, would Megalodon have likely exhibited tonic immobility like modern sharks such that if you could manhandle it correctly you could balance the thing on your extended arm without becoming lunch?
In general, how much do we know about the nervous systems of dinosaurs?
IANAE but I have read a lot about dinosaurs, never read anything close to this. BTW I seriously doubt anyone can come up with more than an opinion to this question.
Surprisingly, this has been a remarkably understudied field of research among professional paleontologists. I doubt that there is much published research on the subject, especially since such a paper would probably be detrimental to one’s scientific career rather than enhancing it. (It might put you in the running for an Ig Nobel Prize, though.)
T. rex belonged to the same lineage as birds, although its brain was proportionately much smaller than modern birds. One might predict its nervous system would be rather similar. I would not be surprised if a decapitated T. rex ran around like a headless chicken for a while, provided you could figure out a way to decapitate it. Regarding the hypnosis question, you have inspired me to write a grant proposal to the National Science Foundation to obtain a definitive answer to the question.
We don’t really know much about Megoladon. Shark bones are cartilage and generally don’t fossilize, so all we have of Megoladon are some teeth and a handful of vertebrae. Since the few bits that we’ve found are similar to a Great White, only larger, the basic theory is that Megoladon itself was like a Great White, only larger. It’s a simple enough theory, but it’s hard to say anything definite when you’ve got so little to work with.
Great Whites aren’t as affected by tonic immobility as other shark species are. Manhandling one and trying to balance it on your arm is an excellent way to end up as shark food. Since our WAG is that Megoladon was a lot like a really big Great White, it’s probably safe to say that if you attempted the same thing with it you could similarly expect to be a little snack for a big shark.
So, the foramen of the skull and vertebral bodies is pretty similar? I’m going to go out on a limb and hypothesize that a Rex would go down faster than a chicken because of the mass/balance difference.
