Scientists believe rats could eventually grow to the size of sheep or even bigger as they evolve to fill vacant ecological niches.
The scenario could become a reality as super-adaptable rats take advantage of larger mammals becoming extinct, an expert predicts.
"Animals will evolve, over time, into whatever designs will enable them to survive and to produce offspring," said geologist Dr Jan Zalasiewicz, from the University of Leicester.
"For instance, in the Cretaceous Period, when the dinosaurs lived, there were mammals, but these were very small, rat and mouse-sized, because dinosaurs occupied the larger ecological niches. Only once the dinosaurs were out of the way did these tiny mammals evolve into many different forms, including some very large and impressive ones: brontotheriums, horses, mastodons, mammoths, rhinoceri and more.
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