Mammals, like humans, exist in every corner of the Earth but that could all change in the future. According to a new study from a group of international researchers from every corner of the globe, when the continents shift together again and form a supercontinent it could spell the end for all warm-blooded creatures.
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00:00 [Music]
00:04 Mammals like humans exist in every corner of the Earth, but that could all change in the future.
00:08 According to a new study from a group of international researchers from every corner of the globe,
00:13 when the continents shift together and form a supercontinent, it could spell the end for all warm-blooded creatures.
00:18 Our planet's tectonic plates are always shifting, and as once Earth had a supercontinent called Pangea,
00:23 it will again in the future, creating the theoretical Pangea Ultima.
00:28 When it does, scientists predict our planet's greenhouse gas levels will reach a tipping point,
00:32 and most of the globe will become uninhabitable to mammalian life.
00:35 And when there's only one continent to live on, the middle of which would consist largely of vast arid deserts due to being so far from oceans,
00:42 you get the picture.
00:43 With the researchers concluding, quote, "The formation and decay of Pangea Ultima will limit and ultimately end terrestrial mammalian habitability on Earth
00:51 by exceeding their warm thermal tolerances billions of years earlier than previously hypothesized."
00:57 So should we all be worried?
00:58 Well, probably not, as the continents only shift a couple of inches a year,
01:02 meaning the end of mammals as we know it won't likely occur for another 250 million years.
01:09 [ Music ]