VOA慢速英语--埃及的发现展示了古代鲸鱼是如何从陆地迁徙到海洋的

Egypt Discovery Shows How Ancient Whales Moved from Land to Sea

Scientists say they have found a 43 million-year-old fossil of a whale ancestor in Egypt. The fossil remains¹ help show how ancestors of modern whales might have moved from living on land to living in water.

An Egyptian-led team of researchers made the discovery.

The newly found whale belongs to the Protocetidae group. That is a group of ancient whale ancestors that might have lived on land and in the water.

The fossil was found in the Fayum Depression in Egypt's Western Desert. The area was once covered by a sea. Scientists have made many discoveries there that have provided more information about the evolution of whales.

The new species is named Phiomicetus Anubis. It is estimated to have been three meters long and weighed about 600 kilograms. It fed on other animals, the researchers said. It is the oldest whale ancestor known in Africa.

"Phiomicetus anubis is a key new whale species, and a critical discovery for Egyptian and African paleontology," said Abdullah Gohar of the Mansoura University Vertebrate Palaeontology Centre (MUVP). He is the lead writer of a paper on the fossil.

The whale evolution in Africa is still largely unknown, the researchers said. But work in the area can provide new information about the evolutionary² change from amphibious to fully³ aquatic⁴ whales.

Rocks in the Fayum Depression cover a 12 million year period. Researchers have found "semiaquatic crocodile-like whales to giant fully aquatic whales," said Mohamed Sameh. He is with the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency and also a writer of the study. The research also raises questions about ancient environments.

Part of the whale's name honors the Fayum Depression. The species name comes from Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god connected with the afterlife.

Words in This Story

fossil — n. the remains of an ancient living thing that have turned to mineral

amphibious — adj. able to live on both land and in the water

evolution — n. a theory that the differences between modern plants and animals are because of changes that happened by a natural process over a very long time

species — n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants

key — adj. something that provides an explanation or solution

critical –adj. extremely important

aquatic — adj. living in or found near the water

1 remains   

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。

2 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 aquatic   

adj.水生的，水栖的

参考例句：

• Aquatic sports include swimming and rowing.水上运动包括游泳和划船。
• We visited an aquatic city in Italy.我们在意大利访问过一个水上城市。