Forget the fittest, this study suggests evolution might favour the laziest

Laziness may be a fruitful evolutionary strategy for the survival of individuals and species, a large scale study of fossils from the last five million years from the Atlantic Ocean has found.

The researchers analysed metabolic rates -- or the amount of energy the organisms need to live their daily lives -- of about 299 mollusk species, and found higher metabolic rates were a reliable predictor of extinction likelihood.

"We wondered, 'Could you look at the probability of extinction of a species based on energy uptake by an organism?'" said Luke Strotz, postdoctoral researcher at University of Kansas in the US.

"We found a difference for mollusk species that have gone extinct over the past 5 million years and ones that are still around today. Those that have gone extinct tend to have higher metabolic rates than those that are still living," Strotz said.