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Proxies for animal intelligence have varied over the centuries. One early suggestion was brain size (or weight, which provides the same ordering.) A second proposal was brain-to-body-mass ratio, and a third was encephalization quotient, sometimes referred to as EQ.
Thus, large whales have very small brains compared to their weight, and small rodents like mice have a relatively large brain, giving a brain-to-body mass ratio similar to humans. [4] One explanation could be that as an animal's brain gets larger, the size of the neural cells remains the same, and more nerve cells will cause the brain to ...
The relationship is not linear, however. Generally, small mammals have relatively larger brains than big ones. Mice have a direct brain/body size ratio similar to humans (1/40), while elephants have a comparatively small brain/body size (1/560), despite being quite intelligent animals. [18] Treeshrews have a brain/body mass ratio of (1/10). [19]
Jerison (1973) has suggested that the degree of brain encephalization (the ratio of brain size to body size, EQ) may correlate with an animal's intelligence and cognitive skills. [30] Corvids and psittacids have higher EQ than other bird families, similar to that of the apes. Among the Corvidae, ravens possess the largest brain to body size ...
The volume of the human brain has increased as humans have evolved (see Homininae), starting from about 600 cm 3 in Homo habilis up to 1680 cm 3 in Homo neanderthalensis, which was the hominid with the biggest brain size. [7] Some data suggest that the average brain size has decreased since then. [8]
They have one of the highest brain-to-body mass ratios [28] and the largest brain size of all fish. [29] Their brains have retia mirabilia which may serve to keep them warm. [30] M. alfredi has been shown to dive to depths over 400 metres (1,300 ft), [31] while the Chilean devil ray, which has a similar structure, dives to nearly 2,000 metres ...
Of all studied sharks, the shortfin mako has one of the largest brain-to-body ratios. [citation needed] This large brain size prompted New Zealand Sealife Australia and New Zealand senior curator Craig Thorburn of Auckland, New Zealand, and film-maker Mike Bhana to investigate the intelligence of the shortfin mako. From tests involving shape ...
Brain of the sperm whale, considered the largest brain in the world. Sperm whales have the largest brain mass of any animal on Earth, averaging 8,000 cm 3 (490 in 3) and 7.8 kg (17 lb) in mature males. [23] The brain to body mass ratio in some odontocetes, such as belugas and narwhals, is second only to humans. [24]