VOA慢速英语：可能是“最早的动物捕食者”化石

A fossil of a 560-million-year-old creature has been named after a famous British naturalist and broadcaster.
一个 5.6 亿年前的生物化石，现在以英国著名博物学家和广播员的名字命名。
 
Researchers say auroralumina attenboroughii may have been the first animal predator, or hunter.
研究人员说，auroralumina attenboroughii 可能是地球上首个动物捕食者。
 
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.
这块生物化石以96岁的大卫·阿滕伯勒 (David Attenborough) 的名字命名，他还写了许多关于自然世界的书籍。据报道，他说他对这一荣誉“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，在拉丁语中意为黎明灯笼。
 
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."
菲尔威尔比在英国地质调查局研究古生物学。他告诉美联社，我们知道“......像水母这样的现代动物群体出现在5.4亿年前的寒武纪大爆发中。”
 
"But this predator," he said, "predates that by 20 million years."
“但新发现的捕食者化石，”他说，“比它早了 2000 万年。”
 
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.
科学家将大约5.41亿至5.3 亿年前的这段时期称为寒武纪大爆发。在那段时间里，各种动植物得到了发展。同样在那个时期，出现了具有坚硬身体部位的生物，例如由碳酸钙制成的贝壳。
 
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，当知道在帮助我们理解“地球上复杂生命何时开始”的化石中，这块化石可能是关键之一时，“非常令人兴奋”。
 
A paleontologist studies ancient life mostly through its mineralized remains, which are known as fossils.
古生物学家主要通过其被称为化石的矿化残骸来研究古代生命。
 
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.
在英格兰中部，莱斯特附近的查恩伍德森林，发现了这种新命名生物的化石，那是阿滕伯勒曾经去寻找化石的地方。
 
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.
科学家们说，auroralumina attenboroughii可能是已知最早具有骨骼形式的生物。他们说这与包括珊瑚、水母和海葵在内的动物群有关。
 
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.
弗兰克·邓恩是牛津大学自然历史博物馆的研究员。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."
邓恩说，与寒武纪时期的大多数其他化石不同，“这个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路过的食物，就像今天的珊瑚和海葵一样。”
 
I'm Anna Matteo.
安娜·马特奥报道。