VOA新闻杂志2022 英国发现地球上第一种动物捕食者

A fossil of a 560-million-year-old creature has been named after a famous British naturalist¹ and broadcaster.

一块5.6亿年前生物的化石以一位英国著名的博物学家和广播员的名字命名。

Researchers say auroralumina attenboroughii may have been the first animal predator², or hunter.

研究人员表示，阿滕伯勒猪笼草可能是第一种动物捕食者（即狩猎者）。

The creature is named after 96-year-old David Attenborough who has also written many books about the natural world.

这种生物是以96岁的大卫·爱登堡爵士的名字命名的，他还写了许多关于自然界的书。

He reportedly said he was “truly delighted” with the honor.

据报道，他说他对这份荣誉感到“非常高兴”。

The first part of the name, auroralumina, means dawn lantern in the Latin language.

名字的第一部分，auroralumina，在拉丁语中的意思是黎明灯笼。

Phil Wilby studies ancient life at the British Geological Survey.

菲尔·威尔比在英国地质调查局研究远古生物。

He told the Associated Press it is believed that “…modern animal groups like jellyfish appeared 540 million years ago in the Cambrian explosion.”

他告诉美联社，据信“……诸如水母之类的现代动物群体出现在5.4亿年前的寒武纪大爆发期间。”

“But this predator,” he said, “predates that by 20 million years.”

“但这种捕食者，”他说，“比它们早了2000万年。”

Scientists call the period between about 541 million to 530 million years ago, the Cambrian explosion.

科学家将大约5.41亿到5.3亿年前的这段时间称为寒武纪大爆发。

During that time, many kinds of animals and plants developed.

在那段时间里，许多种类的动植物生长起来。

Also during that period, creatures with hard body parts such as shells made of calcium³ carbonate appeared.

同样是在那个时期，出现了具有坚硬的身体部位的生物，比如由碳酸钙生成的贝壳。

Wilby said it was “massively exciting” to know that the fossil was one of possibly many that can help us understand “when complex life began on Earth.”

威尔比说，知道这块化石可能是众多帮助我们了解“地球上复杂生命何时开始”的化石之一是“非常令人兴奋的”。

A paleontologist studies ancient life mostly through its mineralized remains⁴, which are known as fossils.

古生物学家主要通过被称为化石的矿化遗骸来研究远古生物。

The fossil of the newly named creature was found in Charnwood Forest near Leicester in central England.

这种新命名的生物的化石是在英格兰中部莱斯特附近的查恩伍德森林中发现的。

That area is where Attenborough used to go fossil hunting.

那个地区是爱登堡爵士过去经常去寻找化石的地方。

Scientists say auroralumina attenboroughii might be the earliest creature known to have a form of skeleton.

科学家说，阿滕伯勒猪笼草可能是已知的最早的有骨架的生物。

They said it is related to the animal group that includes corals, jellyfish, and anemones⁵.

他们说，它与包括珊瑚、水母和海葵在内的动物群体有关。

Frankie Dunn is a researcher at the Oxford⁶ University Museum of Natural History.

弗兰基·邓恩是牛津大学自然历史博物馆的一名研究员。

She said the fossil is very different from other fossils found in Charnwood Forest and around the world.

她说，这块化石与在查恩伍德森林和世界各地发现的其他化石有很大差异。

Dunn said, unlike most other fossils from the Cambrian period, “this one clearly has a skeleton, with densely-packed tentacles⁷ that would have waved around in the water capturing passing food, much like corals and sea anemones do today.”

邓恩说，与寒武纪时期的大多数其他化石不同，这块化石显然有一个骨架，有密密麻麻的触角，可以在水中挥舞，捕捉经过的食物，就像今天的珊瑚和海葵一样。

I’m Anna Matteo.

安娜·马泰奥为您播报。

1 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

2 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

3 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 anemones   

n.银莲花( anemone的名词复数 )；海葵

参考例句：

• With its powerful tentacles, it tries to prise the anemones off. 它想用强壮的触角截获海葵。 来自互联网
• Density, scale, thickness are still influencing the anemones shape. 密度、大小、厚度是受最原始的那股海葵的影响。 来自互联网

6 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

7 tentacles   

n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 )；触角；触须；触毛

参考例句：

• Tentacles of fear closed around her body. 恐惧的阴影笼罩着她。
• Many molluscs have tentacles. 很多软体动物有触角。 来自《简明英汉词典》