中國(guó)發(fā)現(xiàn)4.19億年前的森林化石

中國(guó)發(fā)現(xiàn)4.19億年前的森林化石

The fossilized remains of a 419-million-year-old forest have been found in China, giving researchers new insights into a time when life began to emerge from the sea.

在中國(guó)發(fā)現(xiàn)了4.19億年前的森林化石，這讓研究人員對(duì)海洋生命開(kāi)始出現(xiàn)的時(shí)間有了新的認(rèn)識(shí)。

The site, which is approximately the size of 35 soccer fields (250,000 square meters, or 2.6 million square feet), was discovered near Xinhang in China’s Anhui province. The Devonian-era forest was packed with lycopsid, a branchless tree similar to palm. The area is one of only three forests like it known to exist, with the others located in America and Norway.

這塊場(chǎng)地大約有35個(gè)足球場(chǎng)那么大(25萬(wàn)平方米，260萬(wàn)平方英尺)，是在中國(guó)安徽省新航附近發(fā)現(xiàn)的。泥盆紀(jì)的森林里滿是石松，一種類似棕櫚樹(shù)的無(wú)枝樹(shù)。該地區(qū)是已知的三大森林之一，其他森林位于美國(guó)和挪威。

“The large density as well as the small size of the trees could make Xinhang forest very similar to a sugarcane field, although the plants in Xinhang forest are distributed in patches,” said one of the study’s co-authors, Deming Wang, in a statement.

該研究的合著者之一王德明在一份聲明中說(shuō):“盡管新航森林中的植物呈塊狀分布，但樹(shù)木密度大、體積小，可能會(huì)讓新航森林與甘蔗田非常相似。”

Wang added: “It might also be that the Xinhang lycopsid forest was much like the mangroves along the coast, since they occur in a similar environment and play comparable ecologic roles.”

王德明補(bǔ)充說(shuō):“也有可能新航石松林和沿海的紅樹(shù)林很像，因?yàn)樗鼈兩L(zhǎng)在相似的環(huán)境中，發(fā)揮著相似的生態(tài)作用。”

The lycopsid trees, which were normally less than 3.2 meters (10.5 feet) tall, could have grown to 7.7 meters (25.3 feet) at their peak — taller than a giraffe.

這些石松通常不到3.2米(10.5英尺)高，但它們最高可以長(zhǎng)到7.7米(25.3英尺)——比長(zhǎng)頸鹿還高。

After the Devonian period, which ended 359 million years ago and is known as the “age of fishes,” giant lycopsids popped up during the Carboniferous period. These giant lycopsids became part of the coal that is being mined today, the statement added.

泥盆紀(jì)結(jié)束于3.59億年前，被稱為“魚(yú)的時(shí)代”。泥盆紀(jì)之后，石炭紀(jì)出現(xiàn)了巨大的石松。這些巨大的石松成為了今天開(kāi)采的煤炭的一部分。

The fossilized trees can be seen in the walls of the Jianchuan and Yongchuan clay quarries, underneath and above a sandstone bed that’s 4 meters (13.1 feet) thick. Other fossilized finds include a pinecone-like structure with megaspores and some fossilized tree trunks used to estimate the height of the trees, Wang noted.

在劍川和永川粘土采石場(chǎng)的墻壁上，可以看到4米(13.1英尺)厚的砂巖層下面和上面的樹(shù)木化石。王德明指出，其他的化石發(fā)現(xiàn)還包括一個(gè)松果類結(jié)構(gòu)，有巨大的孢子和一些用來(lái)估計(jì)樹(shù)高度的樹(shù)干化石。

The research was published in the scientific journal Current Biology.

這項(xiàng)研究發(fā)表在科學(xué)雜志《當(dāng)代生物學(xué)》上。