Scientists say human descendants taking over Earth are on seafood restaurant menus

Octopus has the ability to build a new civilization.

Extinction is a natural occurrence on Earth and has been happening since the beginning of life. Looking at fossils from the earliest times, scientists have recorded a total of five major mass extinctions in Earth's history, including the disappearance of the dinosaurs that took place 66 million years ago.

According to a 2023 report, Earth is entering a new extinction cycle. Human impact on biodiversity, through man-made climate change and habitat loss, has severely damaged the natural world . Another report published in 2022 in the journal Nature found that 50% of species will become extinct by 2080 if deforestation and waste continue.

These reports point to a gradual extinction event. However, humanity is still facing sudden extinction events. A supervolcanic eruption, a giant asteroid impact, or even a nuclear war could all spell the end of our civilization.

Assuming a future collapse occurs, researchers ask: what species will rise from the ashes of Earth?

66 million years ago, dinosaurs faced the worst day of their lives - Photo: Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library/Getty Images.

According to Professor Tim Coulson, a biologist and expert in biology and evolution at Oxford University, the descendants that will take over the Earth are now on the menu of most seafood restaurants.

“ There are many species of octopus, not just one humanoid species … and they live in a wide variety of ecosystems, from the deep blue sea to the shores of the oceans ,” said Professor Coulson. “ While some populations and some species will die out, I think there is still an opportunity for others to survive, to flourish, and to diversify over time to thrive in a variety of environments .”

We can also make it easier for octopuses to inherit the Earth, he says, by stopping hunting and consuming them.

An octopus trying to solve a Rubik's cube - Photo: Internet.

Coulson himself admits that this is just one of many possible scenarios for a post-apocalyptic Earth, and that the octopus may not be the only one. However, if it is the case, it would not be the first time a sea creature has taken advantage of the opportunity to thrive on land.

In fact, our mammalian ancestors—or our own ancestors—started out that way, says Andrew Whiten, a professor of zoology and psychology at the University of St. Andrews.

According to Coulson, octopuses now have the advantage to evolve to the next level of intelligence. Some species already use tools, such as using coconut shells to create armor to protect themselves or make “mobile homes.” In the lab, octopuses have used tools to solve puzzles. There have even been cases of octopuses in aquariums escaping their habitats to visit their mates in other tanks.

But according to Princeton University biology professor Andy Dobson, we cannot compare human intelligence with that of an octopus. According to him, an octopus’s intelligence is similar to that of a computer.

Illustration photo.

“ The octopus appears to have a highly evolved nervous system. The dense network of neurons connecting its eight limbs and large eyes is less a brain than a data processing center, ” Dobson said. “ Their intelligence comes from having so many limbs and large eyes to sense their environment .”

While octopuses are not the only species to exhibit advanced intelligence, Coulson argues that dexterity is an important trait that sets them apart.

“They are incredibly dexterous, able to manipulate all sorts of objects with their eight limbs. And while crows and some birds can bend wire with their beaks, or drop rocks into water to get food, they are not as dexterous as an octopus,” he said.

Unlike humans, octopuses have no backbones, and would likely develop civilizations in the ocean rather than on land. However, to build an “octopus city,” Coulson believes they would first need to tap into an easily accessible energy source.

For coastal octopuses, he suggests this could be done by harnessing tidal energy. Deep-sea octopuses could also harness energy from hydrothermal vents, although it would be a bit more difficult.

Illustration photo.

With their growing intelligence and access to energy, octopuses will face the biggest obstacle in their evolutionary path: sociality. Octopuses are notoriously solitary and have been known to eat their own kind.

Professor Peter Godfrey-Smith, PhD, majoring in the history and philosophy of science at the University of Sydney, argues that this behaviour needs to change significantly if octopuses are to gather in large numbers and build a social organization.

“Octopuses are not designed to build a society like humans because of their social habits, in fact they are unlikely to develop a culture,” Godfrey-Smith said. “When I say ‘culture’, I mean the ability to learn from other members of the society… For octopuses, the first step they need to take is to become more socially integrated and raise their young differently.”

Godfrey-Smith explains that octopuses inherit virtually no culture from their parents — at least in human terms — because the parental role in nurturing is virtually non-existent. To develop a more cohesive society, octopuses may need to build more intergenerational bonds, he says.

Because such social shifts have never occurred in the 50 to 100 million years that octopuses have existed, Dobson says the change is unlikely. But in recent years, scientists have observed over the past decade that some octopus species may be more sociable than others, with some octopuses living in groups of ten or more individuals.

Unfortunately, human impact may be limiting the octopus’ evolutionary opportunities. He says pollution, ocean warming, overfishing and microplastics may have harmed the octopus, though we don’t yet fully understand the extent of the impact.

If not octopuses, Dobson thinks nematodes could be the surprise winners of Earth's sixth mass extinction. As for Godfrey-Smith, he's betting on cockatoos.

According to Popular Mechanics

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