Animals of the future

The future evolution of animals cannot be known in advance, but it is nevertheless possible to speculate. Let’s assume that in an unspecified near future, man disappears and leaves nature free to diversify.

If the current trend on the planet continues, most of the large animals and basically all of those threatened with extinction will disappear. Those that live in symbiosis with humans today will be those most able to exploit the ecological niches left vacant.

The increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to human activities will cause plant species to thrive (this process is already happening and will make the earth greener despite climate change). The result of this would be a planet with much higher oxygen content than now.

Therefore, in the not too distant future, there could be a ‘new Carboniferous’, a period when the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere was around 30%. As in that period, insects would reach enormous sizes, since their size correlates with the amount of atmospheric oxygen, due to the way their respiratory systems work.

It would not be unlikely to see mantids as big as dogs, or dragonflies as big as eagles.

Given their non-specialisation, rapid generational change and their distribution across the planet, it is very likely that it will be rodents that diversify and…