(单词翻译:单击)
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Scientists say a fossil of the oldest known octopus ancestor suggests that the animal lived before the dinosaurs.
科学家表示，已知最古老的章鱼祖先的化石表明，这种动物在恐龙之前就存在了。
The researchers have estimated the fossil is about 330 million years old.
研究人员估计，这块化石大约有3.3亿年的历史。
It was discovered in what is now the western American state of Montana.
它是在现在的美国西部蒙大拿州发现的。
The fossil was donated to Canada's Royal Ontario Museum in 1988.
1988年，这块化石被捐赠给了加拿大皇家安大略博物馆。
But it was not considered an important find for many years as scientists studied other fossils found at the same site.
但多年来，由于科学家们研究了在同一地点发现的其他化石，它并不被认为是一个重要的发现。
But then some researchers discovered that the fossil showed the many limbs of an animal and began to study it further.
但后来一些研究人员发现，这块化石显示了动物的许多腕足，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.
这块12厘米长的化石有10条腕足，每条腕足都有两排吸盘。
Modern octopuses have eight limbs.
现代章鱼有8条腕足。
The scientists say the ancient creature likely lived in shallow ocean areas.
科学家们说，这种古老的生物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.
研究人员说，这块化石表明章鱼生活的时间比科学家认为的要早数百万年。
This means that the animals developed before the dinosaurs.
这意味着章鱼在恐龙之前就生长了。
The team recently reported its findings in the publication Nature Communications.
该研究小组最近在《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.
迈克·维奇奥尼告诉美联社：“除了少数地方，软组织化石非常少见。”
He is a zoologist with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History who was not involved in the study.
他是史密森尼国家自然历史博物馆的动物学家，他没有参与这项研究。
"This is a very exciting finding. It pushes back the ancestry much farther than previously known," Vecchione said.
维奇奥尼说：“这是一个非常令人兴奋的发现。它将动物演化推回到了比我们之前所知的更远的时代。”
Christopher Whalen is a scientist with the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
克里斯托弗·惠伦是纽约市美国自然历史博物馆的科学家。
He was a co-writer of the study.
他是这项研究的合著者之一。
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 predators, just like modern octopuses.
他告诉美联社，这块保存完好的化石表明，古代章鱼有能力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 vampire squid, the researchers said.
研究人员说，这种被称为vampyropod的生物很可能是现代章鱼和“吸血鬼鱿鱼”的祖先。
Such creatures are more similar to an octopus than a squid.
这种生物更像章鱼，而不是鱿鱼。
The team said until now, the "oldest known definitive" vampyropod was believed to have lived around 240 million years ago.
该研究小组表示，到目前为止，已知的最古老的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.
科学家们以美国总统乔·拜登的名字将这块化石命名为Syllipsimopodi bideni。
They said they decided on the name to show respect for Biden's science and research policies.
他们说，他们决定使用这个名字是为了表示对拜登的科学和研究政策的尊重。
I'm Bryan Lynn.
布莱恩·林恩为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
