Scientists Question Claim , That T. Rex Was as Smart, as Modern Monkeys.br 'Gizmodo' reports that a team of researchers br recently investigated claims that the Tyrannosaurus rex br could have been as smart as monkeys.br Last year, a paper was published in the journal br 'Comparative Neurology,' which claimed that theropods like br Tyrannosaurus rex had a “monkey-like” numbers of neurons.br According to that paper, this would have made br the Tyrannosaurus rex "not only giant but also br long-lived and endowed with flexible cognition.”.br The new paper specifically referenced the previous paper br and argues that theropods probably had “significantly br lower neuron counts than previously proposed.".br According to the team, neuron count br and brain size are “flawed” proxies for br measuring an ancient species’ intelligence.br We argue that it’s not good br practice to predict intelligence br in extinct species when neuron br counts reconstructed from br endocasts are all we have to go on, Kai Caspar, a biologist at Heinrich Heine University br Düsseldorf and the study’s lead author, via 'Gizmodo'.br The possibility that T. rex might br have been as intelligent as a baboon br is fascinating and terrifying, br with the potential to reinvent br our view of the past, Darren Naish, Paleozoologist at the University of br Southampton and co-author of the paper, via 'Gizmodo'.br The possibility that T. rex might br have been as intelligent as a baboon br is fascinating and terrifying, br with the potential to reinvent br our view of the past, Darren Naish, Paleozoologist at the University of br Southampton and co-author of the paper, via 'Gizmodo'.br But our study shows how br all the data we have is against br this idea. They were more br like smart giant crocodiles,br and that’s just as fascinating, Darren Naish, Paleozoologist at the University of br Southampton and co-author of the paper, via 'Gizmodo'.br 'Gizmodo' reports that even if Tyrannosaurus rex br wasn't as intelligent as a modern monkey, br it was still a terrifying creature. .br The fearsome predator also has an outsized br presence in popular culture, leading theropods br to attract a high degree of interest.