中国西藏出土一块最古老的猫科动物化石

时间：2013-11-13 08:05:40

（单词翻译:单击）

The oldest big cat fossils ever found - from a previously1 unknown species "similar to a snow leopard2" - have been unearthed3 in the Himalayas.

喜马拉雅山地区一块最古老的猫科动物化石被发掘出土——这是一种“类似于雪豹”的未知物种。
It is rare for such an ancient carnivore fossil to be so well preserved
It is rare for such an ancient carnivore fossil to be so well preserved
 
The skull4 fragments of the newly-named Panthera blytheae have been dated between 4.1 and 5.95 million years old.
 
Their discovery in Tibet supports the theory that big cats evolved in central Asia - not Africa - and spread outward.
 
The findings by US and Chinese palaeontologists（古生物学家） are published in the Royal Society journal Proceedings5 B.
 
They used both anatomical and DNA6 data to determine that the skulls7 belonged to an extinct big cat, whose territory appears to overlap8 many of the species we know today. 
 
"This cat is a sister of living snow leopards9 - it has a broad forehead and a short face. But it's a little smaller - the size of clouded leopards," said lead author Dr Jack10 Tseng of the University of Southern California.
 
"This ties up a lot of questions we had on how these animals evolved and spread throughout the world.
 
"Biologists had hypothesised that big cats originated in Asia. But there was a division between the DNA data and the fossil record."
 
Surprising find
 
The so-called "big cats" - the Pantherinae subfamily - includes lions, jaguars11, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, and clouded leopards.
 
DNA evidence suggests they diverged12 from their cousins the Felinae - which includes cougars13, lynxes, and domestic cats - about 6.37 million years ago.
 
But the earliest fossils previously found were just 3.6 million years old - tooth fragments uncovered at Laetoli in Tanzania, the famous hominin（古人类） site excavated14 by Mary Leakey in the 1970s.
 
The new fossils were dug up on an expedition in 2010 in the remote Zanda Basin in southwestern Tibet, by a team including Dr Tseng and his wife Juan Liu - a fellow palaeontologist.
 
They found over 100 bones deposited by a river eroding15 out of a cliff, including the crushed - but largely complete - remains16 of a big cat skull.
 
"We were very surprised to find a cat fossil in that basin," Dr Tseng told BBC News.
 
"Usually we find antelopes17 and rhinos18, but this site was special. We found multiple carnivores - badgers19, weasels and foxes."
 
Among the bones were seven skull fragments, belonging to at least three individual cats, including one nearly complete skull.
 
The fragments were dated using magnetostratigraphy - which relies on historical reversals in the Earth's magnetic field recorded in layers of rock.
 
They ranged between 4.10 and 5.95 million years old, the complete skull being around 4.4 million years of age.
 
"This is a very significant finding - it fills a very wide gap in the fossil record," said Dr Manabu Sakamoto of the University of Bristol, an expert on Pantherinae evolution.
 
"The discovery presents strong support for the Asian origin hypothesis for the big cats.
 
"It gives us a great insight into what early big cats may have looked like and where they may have lived."

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前，先前（地）
参考例句：
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。
2 leopard n9xzO     
n.豹
参考例句：
  • I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
  • The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。
3 unearthed e4d49b43cc52eefcadbac6d2e94bb832     
出土的（考古）
参考例句：
  • Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
  • Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。
4 skull CETyO     
n.头骨；颅骨
参考例句：
  • The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
  • He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。
5 proceedings Wk2zvX     
n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报
参考例句：
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼
6 DNA 4u3z1l     
(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸
参考例句：
  • DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
  • Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。
7 skulls d44073bc27628272fdd5bac11adb1ab5     
颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜
参考例句：
  • One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
  • We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！
8 overlap tKixw     
v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠
参考例句：
  • The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
  • Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。
9 leopards 5b82300b95cf3e47ad28dae49f1824d1     
n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移
参考例句：
  • Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如，飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分（初三）
10 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克
参考例句：
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
11 jaguars bfbd1a0f0e813aff8928cf4c7a6394d1     
n.（中、南美洲的）美洲虎( jaguar的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • Jaguars are largely nocturnal creatures. 美洲虎基本上是夜行动物。 来自辞典例句
  • Jaguars (Panthera onca) once ranged from southern South America to theUnited States. 美洲虎曾经分布在北美洲南部和美洲南部。 来自互联网
12 diverged db5a93fff259ad3ff2017a64912fa156     
分开( diverge的过去式和过去分词 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳
参考例句：
  • Who knows when we'll meet again? 不知几时咱们能再见面！
  • At what time do you get up? 你几时起床？
13 cougars 968452fd32189d904b86f16aebaaa582     
n.美洲狮( cougar的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • Cougars can kill animals eight times their size. 美洲狮可以杀死八倍于自身体积的动物。 来自互联网
14 excavated 3cafdb6f7c26ffe41daf7aa353505858     
v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘
参考例句：
  • The site has been excavated by archaeologists. 这个遗址已被考古学家发掘出来。
  • The archaeologists excavated an ancient fortress. 考古学家们发掘出一个古堡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 eroding c892257232bdd413a7900bdce96d217e     
侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的现在分词 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害
参考例句：
  • The coast is slowly eroding. 海岸正慢慢地被侵蚀。
  • Another new development is eroding the age-old stereotype of the male warrior. 另一个新现象是，久已形成的男人皆武士的形象正逐渐消失。
16 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
17 antelopes ca529013a9640792629d32a14a98d705     
羚羊( antelope的名词复数 )； 羚羊皮革
参考例句：
  • One jump, and you're out, and we'll run for it like antelopes.' 你只要一跳就出来了，我们可以像羚羊那样飞快地逃掉。”
  • Most antelopes can withhold their young for weeks, even months. 绝大部分羚羊能把分娩期推迟几个星期，甚至几个月。
18 rhinos 195f9b9fd8128a29dac773077994698f     
n.犀牛（rhino的复数形式）
参考例句：
  • There are many reports of people taming and even training Indian rhinos. 有许多关于人们驯养甚至训练印度犀牛的记载。 来自辞典例句
  • The rhinos had fed during the night in the rice fields of these villagers. 犀牛夜里在这些村民的庄稼地里也已吃饱了。 来自辞典例句
19 badgers d3dd4319dcd9ca0ba17c339a1b422326     
n.獾( badger的名词复数 )；獾皮；（大写）獾州人（美国威斯康星州人的别称）；毛鼻袋熊
参考例句：
  • Badgers had undermined the foundations of the church. 獾在这座教堂的地基处打了洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • And rams ' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood. 5染红的公羊皮，海狗皮，皂荚木。 来自互联网

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