在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

Scientists say a fossil of the oldest known octopus¹ ancestor suggests that the animal lived before the dinosaurs².

科学家表示，已知最古老的章鱼祖先化石表明，这种动物生活在恐龙之前。

The researchers have estimated the fossil is about 330 million years old. It was discovered in what is now the western American state of Montana.

研究人员估计这块化石大约有3.3亿年的历史。它是在如今的美国西部蒙大拿州发现的。

The fossil was donated to Canada's Royal Ontario Museum in 1988. But it was not considered an important find for many years as scientists studied other fossils found at the same site.

这块化石于1988年被捐赠给加拿大的皇家安大略博物馆。但是随着科学家研究了同一地点发现的其它化石，它多年来并不被认为是一项重要的发现。

But then some researchers discovered that the fossil showed the many limbs of an animal and began to study it further.

但是随后一些研究人员发现，这块化石显示出一种有很多条腿的动物，并开始对其进行进一步研究。

The 12-centimeter fossil has 10 limbs, each with two rows of suckers. Modern octopuses³ have eight limbs. The scientists say the ancient creature likely lived in shallow ocean areas.

这块12厘米大小的化石有10条腿，每条腿上都有两排吸盘。现代章鱼有8条腿。科学家表示，这种古老的生物很可能生活在浅海地区。

The researchers say the fossil suggests that octopuses lived millions of years earlier than scientists believed. This means that the animals developed before the dinosaurs.

研究人员表示，这块化石表明章鱼比科学家认为的早了数百万年。这意味着这种动物比恐龙更早。

The team recently reported its findings in the publication Nature Communications.

该团队最近在《自然通讯》杂志上报告了他们的发现。

"It's very rare to find soft tissue fossils, except in a few places," Mike Vecchione told The Associated Press. He is a zoologist⁴ with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History who was not involved in the study. "This is a very exciting finding. It pushes back the ancestry⁵ much farther than previously⁶ known," Vecchione said.

迈克·韦基奥内对美联社表示：“很难找到软组织化石，除了在少数地方。”韦基奥内是史密森尼国家自然博物馆的动物学家，他并没有参与这项研究。韦基奥内表示：“这是一项非常令人兴奋的发现，它把章鱼祖先推到了比我们以前所知更远的年代。”

Christopher Whalen is a scientist with the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. He was a co-writer of the study. He told the AP the well-preserved fossil showed evidence that the ancient octopus had the ability to release a dark liquid to help it hide from predators⁷, just like modern octopuses.

克里斯托弗·惠伦是纽约市美国自然历史博物馆的科学家。他是这项研究的合著者。他对美联社表示，这块保存完好的化石表明古代章鱼能够释放黑色液体来帮助它躲避捕食者，就像现代章鱼一样。

The creature, known as a vampyropod, was likely the ancestor of both modern octopuses and vampire⁸ squid, the researchers said. Such creatures are more similar to an octopus than a squid.

研究人员表示，这种被称为vampyropod的生物很可能是现代章鱼和吸血乌贼的共同祖先。这种生物更像章鱼而不是鱿鱼。

The team said until now, the "oldest known definitive⁹" vampyropod was believed to have lived around 240 million years ago.

该团队表示，到目前为止，确切已知最古老的vampyropod被认为生活在大约2.4亿年前。

The scientists named the fossil Syllipsimopodi bideni, after American President Joe Biden. They said they decided¹⁰ on the name to show respect for Biden's science and research policies.

科学家以美国总统乔·拜登的名字将这块化石命名为Syllipsimopodi bideni。他们表示，他们决定采用这个名字是为了表示对拜登科研政策的尊重。