[少兒英語]人類或由有第六感的水中動物進化

We may not havebeen able to see ghosts, but in our earlier, fish-like form, we didhave a sixth sense, according to a study.

我們可能真的看不到鬼怪，但是在我們類似魚的那些時候，根據一項科學研究，我們確實是存在第六感的。

Scientists havediscovered that we are descended from a predatory fish-likeancestor that roamed the oceans 500million years ago and had'electrosensors' - the ability to detect electric fields inwater.

科學家們發現5億年前在海洋中食肉性的類魚類轉化而來的，這種類魚類的動物有在水中檢測電場的能力。

It used thisskill to detect prey, communicate and to find its way around.

它用此項技能探路，與其他魚溝通並且找到周圍正確的路。

Researchers atthe University of Cambridge and Cornell University in New Yorkbelieve that not just humans, but 65,000 living vertebrate species– that’s any creature with a spine or backbone - are descended fromthe beast.

在劍橋和紐約康奈爾大學的研究者卻相信這不僅僅是人類的祖先，也是6萬5千種活著的脊椎類動物的祖先。

This includes30,000 species of land animals - including humans - and a similarnumber of ray-finned fish, the scientists found.

科學家們發現這些動物包括3萬種陸地動物，和一小部分鰭刺類魚。

Theirconclusions, which appear in the latest edition of NatureCommunications, mark the culmination of 25 years of work into thesubject.

在最新版的自然通訊雜誌上，他們發表了他們的結論，標誌著25年的研究工作到達了定點。

『This study capsquestions in developmental and evolutionary biology, popularlycalled 「evo-devo」 that I've been interested in for 35 years,』 saidWilly Bemis, Cornell professor of ecology and evolutionary biologyand a senior author of the paper.

「這項研究覆蓋了我已經研究了35年的發展與演化生物學上的問題」，康奈爾大學生態學和生物進化學的教授維利·彼米斯說。

He explains thathundreds of millions of years ago, there was a major split in theevolutionary tree of vertebrates.

他解釋在幾百萬年前，在脊柱動物的進化史上有一次主要的改變。

One lineage ledto the ray-finned fishes, or actinopterygians, and the other tolobe-finned fishes, or sarcopterygians.

一種進化成為了鰭刺類魚，一種進化成了總鰭類魚。

The latter gaverise to land vertebrates, some of which, such as the Mexicanaxolotl salamanders, retained electrosense ability.

後者是陸地脊柱動物的祖先，他們當中的一些還保持著探測電磁場的能力。

Some ray-finnedfish, including paddlefish and sturgeon, also retained thesereceptors.

一些鰭刺類魚，包括白鱘和鱘魚，也有這樣的探測神經。

Professor Bernisand his team found that the electrosensors of the ray-finned fishand the salamander developed in precisely the same pattern from thesame embryonic tissue in the developing skin, confirming that thisis an ancient sensory system.

貝爾尼斯教授和他的研究隊發現具有電磁場探測功能的鰭刺類魚和火蜥蜴正是以同樣的模式發展來自同一胚胎組織在發展中皮膚，因此可以斷定他們有同樣的感官系統。

『These twosensory systems share a common evolutionary heritage,』 addedBemis.

貝爾尼斯教授還說，「這兩個感官系統共享一個遺傳系統。」

However, overthe years reptiles, birds and mammals lost their electrosense as itwasn’t needed for life on terra firma.

但是，由於在陸地上不需要這樣的電子磁場探測系統，爬行類動物，鳥類和哺乳動物都漸漸失去了這一功能。

編譯：劉佩琰

（國際在線獨家譯稿 未經允許請勿轉載）

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