How realistic is the Swampus?

In the 2002 documentary the future is wild, numerous biologists and other scientists speculated about the future evolution of various species.

In the '100 million years in the future' segment, the "swampus" was introduced. Swampuses are the evolution of modern octopuses, who adapted to shallow ponds and now live in swamps.

Octopuses are well known to be able to exist out of water, so an adaption to only sometimes submerged enviroments does not seem too unrealistic to me. Swampuses have a thicker, letherlike skin, protecting them from drying out too quickly. They have also have the ability to breath air, similar to lungfish.

Are the scenarios presented in the documentary realistic, and could partly land dwelling octopuses really develop in the next 100 million years? What nieche would they likely fill?

Btw: The documentary is available on youtube, the swampus can be seen at 39:20.

posted almost 5 years ago

Jonathan Böcker‭

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