Does intelligence depend on a specific type of brain? No.
From Evolution News & Views: Are There Patterns in Invertebrate Brains and Intelligence? Reptiles and fish sometimes show signs of intelligence despite having quite different brains from mammals. But, being exothermic, they don’t do much of anything very often. For example, turtles may rescue each other, but can also spend months in a state of icy torpor with little adverse effect. At one time, it was assumed that the intelligence to rescue would not co-exist with lengthy inertia (the reptilian or triune brain hypothesis). Actually, the two qualities can co-exist, though they wouldn’t be simultaneous. Invertebrate just means “not a vertebrate,” so there is no single type of invertebrate brain: Invertebrates have immensely diverse nervous structures and body plans, revealing Read More ›