giant squids the next dominant lifeform?

[Sketcher]

One of my friends was telling me about his teacher proposed that if humanity was ever wiped out that it would the giant squid that would evolve into the next dominant species on the planet. Is there any truth to this, or was my friend's teacher making wild claims?

 

[Maurice]

Your friend's teacher is on crack.

No one knows what anything will evolve into. There's no roadmap for evolution. It's chance mutation and if said mutation provides and advantage in passing on genes, then maybe the evolved organism displaces others or at least finds an ecological niche. And, contrary to popular misconception, evolution isn't a trend towards increased complexity or greater intelligence.

 

[Icemizer]

How did he define dominance? Its possible the giant squid could become dominant of course so could the beaver.

 

[miraclefan]

How did he define dominance? Its possible the giant squid could become dominant of course so could the beaver.

 

[Unicron]

I for one welcome our new beaver overlords.

 

[miraclefan]

I for one welcome our new beaver overlords.

You in me, both!

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Or perhaps some sort of beaver-squid hybrid.

All hail the Squeaver!

 

[Maurice]

Or perhaps some sort of beaver-squid hybrid.

All hail the Squeaver!

Glad I wasn't drinking when I read that, or it'd have been spit-take central!

 

[Unicron]

Even better, Spiff!

(Anyone want to try and photoshop that? )

 

[Captain X]

 

[What's his face]

It's possible. Squids and octopuses are very intelligent creatures and their tentacles make it possible for them to manipulate objects. Both are necessary to become as advanced as we are.

That's why you'll never see whales or dolphins becoming civilized and adopting tools - they don't have limbs that can manipulate.

 

[SPF]

That's a very dumb science teacher. I hope he didn't claim it as fact or his original thought.

Squibbon

Squibbons are air-breathing descendants of squid who can swing through trees. They swing better than modern day gibbons due to their lack of an internal skeleton. Because of their need to coordinate their many-muscled limbs and the complex visual perception needed to swing from branch to branch, their brains are highly developed. As a result, they are highly intelligent and can even outsmart a megasquid, which sometimes tries to eat them. They are highly agile, snatching Forest Flish from the air to eat. It is implied that they have the capacity to evolve into sapient beings, thus allowing civilization to once again develop on Earth. They are very playful and curious.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Future_Is_Wild

Not that that show was the pinnacle of scientific credibility.

 

[RobertVA]

It's possible. Squids and octopuses are very intelligent creatures and their tentacles make it possible for them to manipulate objects. Both are necessary to become as advanced as we are.

That's why you'll never see whales or dolphins becoming civilized and adopting tools - they don't have limbs that can manipulate.

Being restricted to water would also make it hard to fire ceramics, refine metals and develop electrical/electronic technology.

 

[What's his face]

It's possible. Squids and octopuses are very intelligent creatures and their tentacles make it possible for them to manipulate objects. Both are necessary to become as advanced as we are.

That's why you'll never see whales or dolphins becoming civilized and adopting tools - they don't have limbs that can manipulate.

Being restricted to water would also make it hard to fire ceramics, refine metals and develop electrical/electronic technology.

That too

 

[Meredith]

plus a squid's brain surrounds it's esophagus, Choke on one pretzel and it's IQ would drop several points.

 

[miraclefan]

plus a squid's brain surrounds it's esophagus, Choke on one pretzel and it's IQ would drop several points.

Oh! I'm sure they will ''EVOLVE'' a way to solve that issue!

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I'm betting on raccoons to take over. They will wear caps made from the skins of wild frontiersmen.

 

[FordSVT]

That's a very dumb science teacher. I hope he didn't claim it as fact or his original thought.

Squibbon

Squibbons are air-breathing descendants of squid who can swing through trees. They swing better than modern day gibbons due to their lack of an internal skeleton. Because of their need to coordinate their many-muscled limbs and the complex visual perception needed to swing from branch to branch, their brains are highly developed. As a result, they are highly intelligent and can even outsmart a megasquid, which sometimes tries to eat them. They are highly agile, snatching Forest Flish from the air to eat. It is implied that they have the capacity to evolve into sapient beings, thus allowing civilization to once again develop on Earth. They are very playful and curious.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Future_Is_Wild

Not that that show was the pinnacle of scientific credibility.

It was a very interesting piece of speculation though, I enjoyed it. Of course no one can predict the future millions of years from now, but it certainly wasn't implausible.

 

[Argus Skyhawk]

It sounds as though the teacher just proposed it as a possibility. I doubt he claimed it as fact. It is a reasonable proposal for reasons that What's his face has pointed out.

Being restricted to water would also make it hard to fire ceramics, refine metals and develop electrical/electronic technology.

Their distant descendants would not necessarily live in the water.

What other animals seem like likely candidates? Chimpanzees and other apes are obvious, of course. Perhaps distant descendants of tree-climbing rodents, since they have hand-like front paws that can manipulate objects.

 

[Terengo]

That's a very dumb science teacher. I hope he didn't claim it as fact or his original thought.

Squibbon

Squibbons are air-breathing descendants of squid who can swing through trees. They swing better than modern day gibbons due to their lack of an internal skeleton. Because of their need to coordinate their many-muscled limbs and the complex visual perception needed to swing from branch to branch, their brains are highly developed. As a result, they are highly intelligent and can even outsmart a megasquid, which sometimes tries to eat them. They are highly agile, snatching Forest Flish from the air to eat. It is implied that they have the capacity to evolve into sapient beings, thus allowing civilization to once again develop on Earth. They are very playful and curious.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Future_Is_Wild

Not that that show was the pinnacle of scientific credibility.

Looks like they're well on their way!