Syntarsus kayentakatae (3D recon)

Digital reconstruction of the only complete skull known of Syntarsus kayentakatae, a small predatory dinosaur that lived in Arizona during the Early Jurassic. Bones of the skull, highlighted in yellow in the single scan at the top of the image, are from the section of skull denoted by the red plane on the 3D reconstruction. The braincase of Syntarsus is expanded compared to the condition in Herrerasaurus, showing the beginnings of brain enlargement so characteristic of modern birds. Specimen is 25 cm long. (Sample courtesy of the Museum of Northern Arizona and Dr. Tim Rowe, University of Texas at Austin)

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