<
https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24727502.oxford-university-experts-say-octopuses-likely-take-world/>
"Oxford boffins say the species likely to take over the world after humans is
the octopus.
The eight-limbed creatures are primed to become the dominant force on Earth
should humanity die out, according to one of the world's leading experts.
In the event of a wipeout through either wars or climate change, the marine
invertebrates are said to possess the "physical and mental attributes
necessary" to evolve into the next civilisation-building species.
Professor Tim Coulson of the University of Oxford, said their “dexterity,
curiosity, ability to communicate with each other, and supreme intelligence”
means they could create complex tools to build a vast Atlantis-like
civilisation underwater.
And although the octopus is "unlikely" to develop into a full land animal, it
was clever enough to 'extend' its time out the water to develop new methods of
hunting, he claimed.
Professor Coulson, who is one of the world’s leading zoologists and biologists
and has advised governments, said the cephalopods were now in “pole position”
to colonise the world in the event humanity dies out.
Primates - long thought to be the successor to humans - would face the same
challenges and also become extinct, he said.
The professor said the predators – which can breathe for 30 minutes out of
water - could, over millions of years, develop their own methods of hunting on
land in much the same way as humans have done at sea.
This could include SCUBA-like breathing gear to extend the time they can remain
out of the water, he said."
Via
Fix the News:
https://fixthenews.com/279-breakneck-solarisation/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
