VOA慢速英語：可能是“最早的動物捕食者”化石

A fossil of a 560-million-year-old creature has been named after a famous British naturalist and broadcaster.
一個 5.6 億年前的生物化石，現(xiàn)在以英國著名博物學家和廣播員的名字命名。
 
Researchers say auroralumina attenboroughii may have been the first animal predator, or hunter.
研究人員說，auroralumina attenboroughii 可能是地球上首個動物捕食者。
 
The creature is named after 96-year-old David Attenborough who has also written many books about the natural world. He reportedly said he was "truly delighted" with the honor.
這塊生物化石以96歲的大衛(wèi)·阿滕伯勒 (David Attenborough) 的名字命名，他還寫了許多關(guān)于自然世界的書籍。據(jù)報道，他說他對這一榮譽“非常高興”。
 
The first part of the name, auroralumina, means dawn lantern in the Latin language.
名字的第一部分，auroralumina，在拉丁語中意為黎明燈籠。
 
Phil Wilby studies ancient life at the British Geological Survey. He told the Associated Press it is believed that "...modern animal groups like jellyfish appeared 540 million years ago in the Cambrian explosion."
菲爾威爾比在英國地質(zhì)調(diào)查局研究古生物學。他告訴美聯(lián)社，我們知道“......像水母這樣的現(xiàn)代動物群體出現(xiàn)在5.4億年前的寒武紀大爆發(fā)中。”
 
"But this predator," he said, "predates that by 20 million years."
“但新發(fā)現(xiàn)的捕食者化石，”他說，“比它早了 2000 萬年。”
 
Scientists call the period between about 541 million to 530 million years ago, the Cambrian explosion. During that time, many kinds of animals and plants developed. Also during that period, creatures with hard body parts such as shells made of calcium carbonate appeared.
科學家將大約5.41億至5.3 億年前的這段時期稱為寒武紀大爆發(fā)。在那段時間里，各種動植物得到了發(fā)展。同樣在那個時期，出現(xiàn)了具有堅硬身體部位的生物，例如由碳酸鈣制成的貝殼。
 
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."
威爾比說，當知道在幫助我們理解“地球上復雜生命何時開始”的化石中，這塊化石可能是關(guān)鍵之一時，“非常令人興奮”。
 
A paleontologist studies ancient life mostly through its mineralized remains, which are known as fossils.
古生物學家主要通過其被稱為化石的礦化殘骸來研究古代生命。
 
The fossil of the newly named creature was found in Charnwood Forest near Leicester in central England. That area is where Attenborough used to go fossil hunting.
在英格蘭中部，萊斯特附近的查恩伍德森林，發(fā)現(xiàn)了這種新命名生物的化石，那是阿滕伯勒曾經(jīng)去尋找化石的地方。
 
Scientists say auroralumina attenboroughii might be the earliest creature known to have a form of skeleton. They said it is related to the animal group that includes corals, jellyfish, and anemones.
科學家們說，auroralumina attenboroughii可能是已知最早具有骨骼形式的生物。他們說這與包括珊瑚、水母和?？趦?nèi)的動物群有關(guān)。
 
Frankie Dunn is a researcher at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. She said the fossil is very different from other fossils found in Charnwood Forest and around the world.
弗蘭克·鄧恩是牛津大學自然歷史博物館的研究員。她說，這塊化石與在查恩伍德森林和世界各地發(fā)現(xiàn)的其他化石非常不同。
 
Dunn said, unlike most other fossils from the Cambrian period, "this one clearly has a skeleton, with densely-packed tentacles that would have waved around in the water capturing passing food, much like corals and sea anemones do today."
鄧恩說，與寒武紀時期的大多數(shù)其他化石不同，“這個化石顯然有一個骨架，有密密麻麻的觸角，可以在水中揮舞捕捉路過的食物，就像今天的珊瑚和海葵一樣。”
 
I'm Anna Matteo.
安娜·馬特奧報道。