A theoretical reptilian humanoid has also been the focus of a
widely discussed thought experiment in speculative evolution. In
particular, in 1982 paleontologist Dale Russell, curator of
vertebrate fossils at the National Museum of Canada in Ottawa,
conjectured a possible evolutionary path that might have been
taken by the dinosaur Troodon (then called Stenonychosaurus) had
they not all perished in the K/T extinction event 65 million
years ago. The essence of this thought experiment was that
bipedal predators (theropods) which existed at that time, such
as Troodon, could have evolved into intelligent beings similar
in body plan to humans. Over geologic time, Russell noted that
there had been a steady increase in the encephalization quotient
or EQ (the relative brain weight when compared to other species
with the same body weight) among the dinosaurs. Russell had
discovered the first Troodontid skull, and noted that, while its
EQ was low compared to humans, it was six times higher than that
of other dinosaurs.