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    • Renowned scientist says octopuses could evolve into next civilization
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    Renowned scientist says octopuses could evolve into next civilization

    Umito Posted on

    Professor Tim Coulson, a leading zoologist and biologist at the University of Oxford, has suggested that octopuses could become the next civilization builders if humanity were to become extinct. He believes octopuses’ intelligence, adaptability and unique abilities make them good candidates to fill the ecological niche left by humans.

    “Octopuses are among the most intelligent, adaptable and resourceful creatures on Earth,” Professor Coulson said in an interview with London-based business publication The European. “Their dexterity, curiosity, ability to communicate with each other and supreme intelligence could allow them to create complex tools to build an underwater civilization, similar to Atlantis.”

    Octopuses possess advanced cognitive functions, including problem-solving abilities, tool use, and the ability to learn and innovate. They have a complex nervous system and a decentralized neural structure, with groups of neurons controlling each tentacle. This allows them to manipulate objects with great precision.

    “Their ability to solve complex problems, manipulate objects, and even camouflage themselves with astonishing precision suggests that, given the right environmental conditions, they could evolve into a civilization-building species after human extinction.” , Coulson said.

    He explained that although primates have long been considered potential successors to humans, they would face the same challenges and are unlikely to replace humans. “Octopuses are potentially better candidates for occupying an ecological niche in a post-human world,” he said.

    While recognizing that such an evolution could take hundreds of thousands or even millions of years, Professor Coulson hypothesized that octopuses could eventually adapt to new environments and even expand their hunting territory over earth. “With evolutionary advances, it is possible, even likely, that they would develop ways to breathe outside of water and eventually hunt land animals like deer, sheep and other mammals, assuming that they survived the catastrophic event that led to human extinction.”

    “Humans learned to catch fish and navigate on and under water, so it is also possible, even likely, that octopuses do the same on land,” he added.

    Octopuses are highly intelligent creatures known for their versatility and advanced cognition, which includes the ability to camouflage themselves with astonishing precision and communicate via flashes of color. They have been recorded splitting coconut shells to hide underneath, navigating complex mazes and unscrewing jars.

    However, octopuses have a relatively short lifespan, ranging from one to five years depending on the species. They also lead solitary lives and do not care for their young, which could pose challenges to the development of complex societies. “Octopuses are unlikely to adapt to life on land due to their lack of a skeleton, which makes it difficult to move quickly and agilely out of water,” Professor Coulson explained, “but it is possible that animals evolve to do it.”

    He concluded: “While there is no way to know whether my hypothesis will prove true, it cannot be ruled out. The future of life on Earth is shaped by countless variables, and a certain number of species could become important.”

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    Other contenders for the title of dominant species after humans include monkeys, elephants, dolphins, parrots and crows. Some scientists think ants and cats might also be in the running. However, birds and insects lack several abilities that humans and octopuses possess, such as intelligence.

    The idea of ​​octopuses becoming dominant has sparked heated discussion among scientists. Despite the challenges, Coulson believes that octopuses’ intelligence and adaptability could allow them to exploit new niches and adapt to a changing planet, especially in the absence of human influence.

    “Their advanced cognition, tool use and ability to adapt to changing environments provide a blueprint for what could become the planet’s next intelligent species after humans,” he said.

    In conclusion, although it is not possible to predict future evolution with certainty, octopuses could play a central role in a post-human world. “Would octopuses build vast underwater cities and come to land with a breathing apparatus to take down a deer? We have no way of knowing. But we certainly can’t rule it out,” he said. notice Professor Coulson.

    This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq



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