Climate Crisis Could Make Humans Shrink In Size，Says Fossil Expert

The climate crisis may lead the human race to shrink in size，as mammals with smaller frames appear better able to deal with rising global temperatures，a leading fossil expert has said.

Prof Steve Brusatte，a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh，suggested that the way in which other mammals have previously responded to periods of climate change could offer an insight into humans ’future.

He likened the potential plight of people as similar to that of early horses，which became smaller in body size as temperatures rose around 55m years ago，a period called the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum.

Writing in The Rise and Reign of the Mammals，Brusatte notes that animals in warmer parts of the world today are often smaller than those in colder areas，an ecological principle known as Bergmann’s rule. “The reasons are not entirely understood，but it is probably，in part，because smaller animals have a higher surface area relative to their volume than plumper animals and can thus better shed excess heat，”he writes.

Brusatte said that becoming smaller was “a common way that mammals deal with climate change”. He added：“That’s not to say every species of mammal would get smaller，but it seems to be a common survival trick of mammals when temperatures spike pretty quickly. Which does raise the question：if temperatures do spike really quickly might humans dwarf，might humans get smaller？And I think that ’s certainly plausible.”

一位顶尖化石专家表示，气候危机可能导致人类体型缩小，因为体型较小的哺乳动物似乎能够更好地适应全球气候变暖。（剩余1740字）