Fergus Simpson, a scientist at the University of Barcelona, has estimated that the average weight of intelligent extraterrestrials would exceed 300 kilogrammes.
The argument relies on a mathematical model that assumes organisms on other planets obey the same laws of conservation of energy that we see here on Earth - namely, that larger animals need more resources and expend more energy, and thus are less abundant.
There are many small ants, for example, but far fewer whales or elephants.
Since the number of planets inhabited by relatively small animals would outnumber the amount of worlds where large ones predominate, it is most likely that we find ourselves on a planet with relatively small animals - and are ourselves probably one of the smaller intelligent beings, Simpson added.
Simpson said that a certain minimum size is probably necessary for intelligent life, and he used the range of body sizes found in animals on Earth to come up with the most probable distribution of organisms on other planets, 'Newsweek' reported.
Shostak said the research is "interesting" but cautioned that there is no concrete data to work with.
He also said that while humans are not the Earth's biggest organisms it is their thumbs and upright stance - not their body mass - that has allowed their intelligence to blossom.
