An Oxford professor claims World War Three could cause humans to shrink and evolve into Marvel-like superheroes - with bullet-proof skin, innate ninja skills and wings.

One of the world's top biologists Professor Tim Coulson, of Oxford University, said a global nuclear conflict could trigger evolutionary changes that alter humankind’s form “beyond recognition”.

In a post-apocalyptic world, natural selection could drive genetic changes in response to extreme environmental pressures to help our species survive, he added.

This could turn people into ‘superhumans’ that are stronger, fitter, and harder to kill than present-day men.

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It could also give us “hyper intelligence” to solve problems in harsh environments, create shelter, and rebuild lost technologies and scientific knowledge.

Prof Tim Coulson is one of the world's leading biologists and zoologists (Image: John Cairns/University of Oxford) And we might develop “super senses” like enhanced vision, hearing and smell to detect threats and find food.

Supreme physical strength, speed, and cunning – traits of the feared Japanese ninja - could also become the norm, Professor Coulson added.

The biggest physical changes may include protective, resilient skin as a defence against predators, and extreme weather conditions, making individuals harder to harm or kill.

And if mobility becomes a key factor in survival, humans could even shrink in size and develop the ability to “fly like a bat” with small bodies, light bones, powerful muscles, and wing-like adaptations.

Professor Coulson, who is one of the world’s leading zoologists and biologists, wrote in The European magazine that major changes to the human form would take millions of years but could be triggered by a Third World War.

He added: “However, one of the challenges in predicting what humans will look like in the future is environments change.

“We are changing lots of aspects of our environment, and we should not assume that the drivers of natural selection that our populations experience today will be around in a century or millennium’s time. That’s why it is so hard to predict which twists and turn evolution will take.”

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But he said the chances of humanity evolving into superhumans were about as likely as mankind becoming more STUPID.

If WW3 is avoided and civilization continues to make it easy to survive and breed, new survival traits will not be needed, and some of our existing ones – like intellect - could be lost through evolution.

He added: “My guess is our environment will change dramatically at some point when our civilisation collapses. All previous civilisations have collapsed, from ancient Egypt to the Mayans, and there is no reason to suspect ours is any different.

“Civilisation may select for greater stupidity and sloth, while its demise might lead to superhumans.”