Mammals with large brains tend to be smarter but they also face a greater chance today of going extinct, according to a new study.

Accjrding to Japantimes, scientists have long known that having oodles of grey matter comes at a certain cost. Supplying a big brain with blood, for example, requires a lot of energy. But even if there is not a direct correlation between size and intelligence a bigger bundle of neurons is usually seen as a plus.

A professor at Stanford University, Eric Abelson, suspected there might be a link between larger brains and the risk of extinction. To test his hypothesis, he examined museum samples from more than 1,650 animals from 160 different species in the Americas.

To his surprise, he found a clear pattern: Animals with larger brains were more at risk of going the way of the dinosaur.

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