这是地球上已知最早的动物足迹之一

这是地球上已知最早的动物足迹之一

Scientists have discovered what could be some of the very earliest animal trails left on the surface of Earth. The finding dates back to around half a billion years or so, and it could finally reveal more about this distant part of history, and the very first moving organisms.

科学家发现了地球表面可能存在的最早的动物足迹。这一发现可以追溯到大约5亿年前，它最终可能揭示更多关于这段遥远历史的信息，以及最早移动的生物体。

What makes the finding particular special is that the fossil of the animal that made these marks has been found alongside its trail. In previous research, some guesswork had been required to figure out what sort of critters might have left evidence of their journeys.

这一发现的特别之处在于，留下这些痕迹的动物化石是在它的足迹旁边发现的。在之前的研究中，需要一些猜测工作来弄清楚哪种动物可能留下了它们迁徙的证据。

The uncovered fossils include both the trails, and the tiny bugs called Yilingia spiciformis (or "spiky Yiling bug", Yiling being the nearest Chinese city to the discovery site). These millipede-like creatures would have been up to 10 cm or 4 inches long.

这些被发现的化石既包括这些痕迹，也包括一种名为为“蜘蛛形夷陵虫”的小虫子(或“蜘蛛状夷陵虫”，夷陵是离发现地点最近的中国城市)。这些类似千足虫的生物可能长达10厘米或4英寸。

Artistic impression of Yilingia spiciformis. (Zhe Chen)

"This discovery shows that segmented and mobile animals evolved by 550 million years ago," says geoscientist Shuhai Xiao, from the Virginia Tech College of Science. "Mobility made it possible for animals to make an unmistakable footprint on Earth, both literally and metaphorically."

来自弗吉尼亚理工大学的地球科学家肖树海说:“这一发现表明，分节动物和活动动物在5.5亿年前就已经进化出来了。”“无论是字面上还是隐喻上，移动使动物在地球上留下明确无误的足迹成为可能。”

The researchers who made the discovery believe this find might be even more significant – it could represent the first known example of animals making decisions. Yilingia spiciformis might have been moving away from or towards something, perhaps due to a sophisticated central nervous system, though more research will be needed to be sure of that aspect.

做出这一发现的研究人员认为，这一发现可能更有意义——它可能代表着动物做出决定的首个已知例子。可能是由于复杂的中枢神经系统，蜘蛛形夷陵虫可能已经离开或走向了某个地方，尽管还需要更多的研究来确定这一点。

That the bug had a 'head' and a 'tail', and was made up of segments, suggests it knew the direction it was going in as it travelled through the primordial ooze.

这只虫子有一个“头”和一个“尾”，由几段组成，这表明它在穿过原始软泥时知道它前进的方向。

Further examination of the fossil showed the animal rested along the way – perhaps it wasn't all that used to taking trips – while leaving trails up to 608 mm or 24 inches long.

对化石的进一步研究表明，这只动物在路上休息——也许它不太习惯旅行——同时留下608毫米或24英寸长的痕迹。

The finding backs up a previous hypothesis that creatures first evolved the ability to move around intentionally at some point during the Ediacaran Period, 635-540 million years ago.

这一发现支持了先前的一个假设，即在6.35-5.4亿年前的埃迪卡拉纪的某个时期，进化出了有意识地四处活动的能力。

It marked the dawn of the bilaterians – bilaterally symmetrical animals with segmented bodies and control over their movements, thought to have appeared at this time. Most animals, including humans, are bilaterians.

它标志着双侧对称动物的出现——双侧对称的动物，身体分割，控制着它们的运动，据认为是在这个时候出现的。大多数动物，包括人类，都是双足动物。

Of course, once you can propel yourself forward in a direction of your choosing, that's a big evolutionary advantage, one that us humans are still benefiting from today.

当然，一旦你能推动自己朝着自己选择的方向前进，这是一个巨大的进化优势，我们人类至今仍在从中受益。

"[Bilaterians] ability to shape the face of the planet is ultimately tied to the origin of animal motility," says Xiao.

肖教授说：“塑造地球表面的能力最终与动物运动的起源有关。”

It's no exaggeration to say that life on Earth was never the same again after motility was developed – organisms being able to move on their own, with their own energy.

毫不夸张地说，地球上的生命在运动能力得到发展后就再也不一样了——生物体能够靠自己的能量移动。

This superpower helped lay the foundations for the explosion of life during the Cambrian Period, 541-485 million years ago.

这个超级大国在541- 4.85亿年前的寒武纪时期帮助奠定了生命爆炸的基础。

That's why scientists are so excited about what they've managed to find here: it's one of the first signs of the change in life on Earth that has since had an influence on almost every part of the way our society works today.

这就是为什么科学家们对他们在这里找到的东西如此兴奋:这是地球上生命变化的第一个迹象之一，自那以后，这种变化几乎影响了我们当今社会的方方面面。

"We are the most impactful animal on Earth," says Xiao. "We make a huge footprint, not only from locomotion, but in many other and more impactful activities related to our ability to move."

“我们是地球上最具影响力的动物，”肖说。“我们留下了巨大的足迹，不仅是通过移动，而且在许多与我们移动能力相关的其他更有影响力的活动中。”

"When and how animal locomotion evolved defines an important geological and evolutionary context of anthropogenic impact on the surface of the Earth."

“动物运动的进化时间和方式，决定了人类活动对地球表面影响的重要地质和进化背景。”

The research has been published in Nature.

这项研究已发表在《自然》杂志上。