# Humanity kicks the bucket. Which species is the next to reign? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 21, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humanity-kicks-the-bucket-which-species-is-the-next-to-reign/365494 "2006-07-21T16:14:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2006, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humanity-kicks-the-bucket-which-species-is-the-next-to-reign/365494/41 "2006-07-23T04:22:07Z")
Cockroaches so don’t need us. More voting for the raccoons. Those things are scary-smart. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2006, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humanity-kicks-the-bucket-which-species-is-the-next-to-reign/365494/42 "2006-07-23T04:27:59Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Cockroaches so don’t need us. I agree. Roaches and rats flourish in niches we’ve created, but they also flourish in a variety of naturally-ocurring niches as well. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2006, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humanity-kicks-the-bucket-which-species-is-the-next-to-reign/365494/43 "2006-07-23T04:28:12Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Cockroaches so don’t need us. Well, they don’t strictly **need** us, but they’d really miss the things we throw away or leave lying around, a record no other species can match! ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humanity-kicks-the-bucket-which-species-is-the-next-to-reign/365494/44 "2006-07-23T23:11:35Z")
What species has the largest total biomass right now? ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humanity-kicks-the-bucket-which-species-is-the-next-to-reign/365494/45 "2006-07-23T23:22:25Z")
And what animal species has the largest biomass? ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humanity-kicks-the-bucket-which-species-is-the-next-to-reign/365494/46 "2006-07-23T23:53:39Z")
> [@R't't'sk](#): > > Okay, here’s the scenario: our entire civilization has been wiped out by a disease contracted from a dirty telesqueak, leaving nothing but big empty treecities and billions of decaying peanut shells. > > If we give it a couple of billion years, which species is the next one to take over? For the sake of argument all other rodents become ex-rodents as well, since sciurid beings would be too obvious an answer. My acorns are on the bluejays. They’re among the smartest of birds, extremely adaptable, and already display rudimentary nut-hoarding behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humanity-kicks-the-bucket-which-species-is-the-next-to-reign/365494/47 "2006-07-25T03:38:54Z")
> [@Larry Borgia](#): > > I think the OP is asking “what will be the next intelligent species, in the sense that humans are intelligent.” There’s no reason why there should be one, but I’ll nominate the Squid, because that would be cool. Also, that’s what the Discovery Channell suggested. minor nitpick It was actually called the [Squibbon](http://animal.discovery.com/convergence/futureiswild/poll/squibbon.html). ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humanity-kicks-the-bucket-which-species-is-the-next-to-reign/365494/48 "2006-07-26T19:17:59Z")
Originally Posted by Boulter’s Canary Parrots. Manual dexterity, intelligence, they’re social and they can fly. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 😕 “Manual dexterity”? They can manipulate objects almost as well as if they had an opposable thumb is what I meant. What I think I meant. OK, OK - I’m just typing what my cockatiel overlord tells me to type. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humanity-kicks-the-bucket-which-species-is-the-next-to-reign/365494.md?page=2)