Rats could one day be bigger than COWS

For topics unrelated to bush walking or to the forums.

Rats could one day be bigger than COWS

Postby maddog » Thu 06 Feb, 2014 11:27 am

Rats could one day be bigger than COWS: Super-size rodents will evolve as larger mammals become extinct, claims scientist

* Jan Zalasiewicz from Leicester University says rats will grow to 176lb
* ‘If ecospace was sufficiently empty, then they could get larger still,' he said
* A hint of the nightmare to come can be seen on ‘rat islands’ - isolated regions where rats have quickly risen to become the dominant species
* Gigantism is a evolutionary response that occurs when a small creature steps into an ecological niche left by a larger species


Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... z2sV7UDA2n

http://www.smh.com.au/world/rats-could- ... z2sV76B5zh

http://www.theguardian.com/science/anim ... geological
maddog
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
 
Posts: 653
Joined: Sun 07 Nov, 2010 4:10 pm
Region: New South Wales
Gender: Male

Re: Rats could one day be bigger than COWS

Postby wayno » Thu 06 Feb, 2014 12:46 pm

it's already happening, humans evolved from animals the size of rodents... some are doing their best to approach the size of pigs.... stay tuned for humans the size of cows...
from the land of the long white clouds...
User avatar
wayno
Lagarostrobos franklinii
Lagarostrobos franklinii
 
Posts: 8685
Joined: Sun 19 Jun, 2011 7:26 am
Location: NZ
Region: New Zealand
Gender: Male

Re: Rats could one day be bigger than COWS

Postby Giddy_up » Thu 06 Feb, 2014 1:02 pm

Wonder what rat spare ribs will taste like?
causa latet, vis est notissima
User avatar
Giddy_up
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1076
Joined: Tue 19 Feb, 2013 5:34 pm
Region: Queensland
Gender: Male

Re: Rats could one day be bigger than COWS

Postby icefest » Thu 06 Feb, 2014 2:30 pm

Giddy_up wrote:Wonder what rat spare ribs will taste like?

Ask the dwarves, or, if you're feeling adventurous, CMOT Dibbler will sell you some.
Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful.
User avatar
icefest
Lagarostrobos franklinii
Lagarostrobos franklinii
 
Posts: 4511
Joined: Fri 27 May, 2011 11:19 pm
Location: www.canyoninginvictoria.org
Region: Victoria

Re: Rats could one day be bigger than COWS

Postby MrWalker » Thu 06 Feb, 2014 6:45 pm

I'm fairly sure that feral cats will be be bigger than lions and keep the giant rats under control.
MrWalker
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
 
Posts: 510
Joined: Fri 25 Nov, 2011 11:14 am
Region: Tasmania
Gender: Male

Re: Rats could one day be bigger than COWS

Postby maddog » Thu 06 Feb, 2014 7:41 pm

MrWalker wrote:I'm fairly sure that feral cats will be be bigger than lions and keep the giant rats under control.

According to the Daily Mail, with global warming mammals will get smaller, so the rats would eat cats (and perhaps horses too). Snakes may continue to eat rats though. Giant turtles will snack on crocodile.
maddog
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
 
Posts: 653
Joined: Sun 07 Nov, 2010 4:10 pm
Region: New South Wales
Gender: Male

Re: Rats could one day be bigger than COWS

Postby doogs » Thu 06 Feb, 2014 8:05 pm

maddog wrote:
MrWalker wrote:I'm fairly sure that feral cats will be be bigger than lions and keep the giant rats under control.

According to the Daily Mail, with global warming mammals will get smaller, so the rats would eat cats (and perhaps horses too). Snakes may continue to eat rats though. Giant turtles will snack on crocodile.

since when were rats not mammals?
Do you want to build a snowman?
User avatar
doogs
Lagarostrobos franklinii
Lagarostrobos franklinii
 
Posts: 3649
Joined: Mon 11 Oct, 2010 4:32 pm
Region: Tasmania
Gender: Male

Re: Rats could one day be bigger than COWS

Postby ILUVSWTAS » Fri 07 Feb, 2014 3:01 am

Gosh! How big will the cows be then?
Nothing to see here.
User avatar
ILUVSWTAS
Lagarostrobos franklinii
Lagarostrobos franklinii
 
Posts: 11017
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 9:53 am
Region: Tasmania
Gender: Male

Re: Rats could one day be bigger than COWS

Postby Pteropus » Fri 07 Feb, 2014 10:36 pm

If rats become bigger than cows, then at least milking them will be more efficient
milking_time.jpg
milking_time.jpg (3.26 KiB) Viewed 7352 times
rat-milk.jpg
Stolen from the interwebs
rat-milk.jpg (12.77 KiB) Viewed 7352 times

:mrgreen:
Pteropus
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1045
Joined: Sun 09 May, 2010 6:42 pm
Location: Neither here nor there
Region: Australia
Gender: Male


Return to Between Bushwalks

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 27 guests