Octopuses are the species most likely to take over the world after humans, scientists say.
The world's leading experts claim that the eight-limbed creatures are poised to become the dominant force on Earth if humanity dies out.
Faced with extinction either from wars or climate change, marine invertebrates are said to possess the physical and mental attributes necessary to evolve into future civilization-building species.
Professor Tim Coulson from the University of Oxford said: "Their versatility, curiosity, ability to communicate with each other and supreme intelligence means they could create complex tools to build a vast civilization like underwater Atlantis."
Although the octopus is unlikely to develop into a full-fledged land animal, experts say it is smart enough to "extend" its time out of water to develop new hunting methods.
The professor said that the predators, which can breathe for 30 minutes out of water, may, over millions of years, have developed their hunting methods on land in the same way as humans have done in the sea.
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