英國牛津大學研究人員和加拿大同行在新一期美國《地質學》（Geology）雜志上報告說，他們在從加拿大紐芬蘭附近深海找到的化石上，發現了70余處動物移動的痕跡。研究人員說，雖然還不能確認這是什么動物，但是這種動物已具有通過控制肌肉來行動的能力，它很可能像水生腔腸動物一樣，依靠肌肉的收縮來移動，以幫助覓食或躲避危險。
研究人員說，此前也發現過有關動物具有活動能力的化石，但這類化石的形成年代一般都不超過距今5.6億年，一些研究人員因此認為更古老的動物可能都是靜止不動的。而上述新發現不僅使動物開始具有活動能力的時間顯著提前，而且說明當時的海洋生態環境比人們目前所了解的更復雜。
Biooo推薦原始出處：
Geology; February 2010; v. 38; no. 2; p. 123-126; DOI: 10.1130/G30368.1
First evidence for locomotion in the Ediacara biota from the 565 Ma Mistaken Point Formation, Newfoundland
Alexander G. Liu1, Duncan Mcllroy2 and Martin D. Brasier1,2
1 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PR, UK
2 Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland A1B 3X5, Canada
Evidence for locomotion in the Precambrian fossil record is scant. Reliable Ediacaran trace fossils are all younger than 560 Ma, and consist of relatively simple horizontal burrows and trails from shallow-water deposits. Here we describe an assemblage of macroscopic locomotory traces from deep-water environments at Mistaken Point, southeastern Newfoundland, Canada, dated to ca. 565 Ma. These trails extend the record of complex trace fossils back into the earliest Avalonian biota. Our new evidence for large motile organisms on the seafloor at this time suggests that at least some of these early Ediacaran organisms, whose biological affinities are widely debated, could have been muscular and of metazoan grade.作者: liubing5855982 時間: 2010-3-7 09:57
人類在自然面前是多么的渺小啊作者: 孫銳利 時間: 2010-3-7 10:18
自然界的很多事物是需要人類進一步研究和探索的！