Scientists recently studied the fossil of a creature that lived in what is now the U.S. state of Texas about 270 million years ago. They named it Kermitops gratus in honor of Kermit the Frog from the children's television program The Muppets.
科学家最近研究了一种生物的化石，这种生物大约在2.7亿年前生活在现在的美国德克萨斯州。他们将其命名为Kermitops gratus，以纪念儿童电视节目《布偶》中的青蛙Kermit。
The fossil belongs to a group of animals that are thought to have given rise to modern-day frogs, salamanders, and limbless caecilians. Those animals, called amphibians, are creatures that can live both on land and in water.
该化石属于一组动物，被认为是现代青蛙，蝾螈和无肢动物的起源。这些被称为两栖动物的动物既可以生活在陆地上，也可以生活在水中。
And the study offers details into the history of how amphibians have evolved.
这项研究提供了两栖动物进化历史的细节。
Only the head, or skull, was discovered. It measured around three centimeters long. Researchers think the amphibian-like creature had a wide body that was around 15-18 centimeters long.
只有头部或头骨被发现。它大约有三厘米长。研究人员认为，这种类两栖动物的身体很宽，大约有15-18厘米长。
Amphibians are one of the four groups of living vertebrates on land. The others are reptiles, birds, and mammals. Special details, or features, on the Kermitops skull are providing researchers with more information about the history of amphibians.
两栖动物是陆地上现存的四种脊椎动物之一。其他的是爬行动物、鸟类和哺乳动物。Kermitops头骨上的特殊细节或特征为研究人员提供了更多关于两栖动物历史的信息。
Calvin So is a George Washington University doctoral student. And he is the lead writer of the study recently released in the publication Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
Calvin So是乔治华盛顿大学的博士生。他是最近发表在《林奈学会动物学杂志》上的这项研究的主要作者。
So said Kermitops helps researchers understand the early history of amphibians by showing there is not a clear history "of step by step becoming more like the modern amphibian."
因此，Kermitops表示，通过展示“一步步变得更像现代两栖动物”的清晰历史，这有助于研究人员了解两栖动物的早期历史。
The fossil was collected in 1984 near Lake Kemp in Texas. It was kept in the large collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. But it was not fully studied until recently.
该化石于1984年在德克萨斯州的肯普湖附近被收集。它被保存在华盛顿特区史密森学会国家自然历史博物馆的大量收藏中，但直到最近才得到全面研究。
Kermitops had facial features that were similar to frogs and salamanders. But it had palpebral bones or eyelid bones, that are not found in modern amphibians.
Kermitops的面部特征与青蛙和蝾螈相似。但它有眼睑骨或眼睑骨，这在现代两栖动物中是找不到的。
So said, "The length of the skull in front of the eyes is longer than the length of the skull behind the eyes, which differs from the other fossil amphibians living at the same time." He added that it might have enabled Kermitops to close its mouth faster than others to capture insects as food.
他说:“眼睛前面的头骨长度比眼睛后面的头骨长度长，这与同一时期生活的其他两栖动物化石不同。”他补充说，这可能使Kermitops能够比其他动物更快地闭上嘴巴，捕捉昆虫作为食物。
So added, "We really thought it looked like Kermit the Frog." That led researchers to name it Kermitops, meaning "Kermit face."
他补充说:“我们真的认为它看起来像青蛙克米特。”这让研究人员将其命名为Kermitops，意思是“克米特脸”。
Kermitops lived about 20 million years before the worst mass die-off, or extinction, in Earth's history. And it appeared about 40 million years before the first dinosaurs. It lived alongside other members that formed the amphibian group.
Kermitops生活在地球历史上最严重的大规模灭绝或灭绝之前大约2000万年。它比第一批恐龙早4000万年出现。它和其他组成两栖动物群体的成员生活在一起。
The environment in which Kermitops lived appears to have changed back and forth between warm and wet seasons and hot and dry seasons.
Kermitops生活的环境似乎在温暖潮湿的季节和炎热干燥的季节之间来回变化。
So said, "This environment would be similar to modern-day monsoons that take place in the Southwest U.S. and Southeast Asia."
他说:“这种环境类似于美国西南部和东南亚的现代季风。”
The fossil record of early amphibians and their ancestors is not complete. That makes it difficult to understand the beginnings of modern amphibians.
早期两栖动物及其祖先的化石记录是不完整的。这使得人们很难理解现代两栖动物的起源。
Arjan Mann of the National Museum of Natural History helped write the study. He said Kermitops shows the importance "of continuing to add new fossil data to understanding this evolutionary problem."
国家自然历史博物馆的Arjan Mann帮助撰写了这项研究。他说，Kermitops显示了“继续增加新的化石数据以理解这一进化问题”的重要性。
科学家最近研究了一种生物的化石，这种生物大约在2.7亿年前生活在现在的美国德克萨斯州。他们将其命名为Kermitops gratus，以纪念儿童电视节目《布偶》中的青蛙Kermit。
The fossil belongs to a group of animals that are thought to have given rise to modern-day frogs, salamanders, and limbless caecilians. Those animals, called amphibians, are creatures that can live both on land and in water.
该化石属于一组动物，被认为是现代青蛙，蝾螈和无肢动物的起源。这些被称为两栖动物的动物既可以生活在陆地上，也可以生活在水中。
And the study offers details into the history of how amphibians have evolved.
这项研究提供了两栖动物进化历史的细节。
Only the head, or skull, was discovered. It measured around three centimeters long. Researchers think the amphibian-like creature had a wide body that was around 15-18 centimeters long.
只有头部或头骨被发现。它大约有三厘米长。研究人员认为，这种类两栖动物的身体很宽，大约有15-18厘米长。
Amphibians are one of the four groups of living vertebrates on land. The others are reptiles, birds, and mammals. Special details, or features, on the Kermitops skull are providing researchers with more information about the history of amphibians.
两栖动物是陆地上现存的四种脊椎动物之一。其他的是爬行动物、鸟类和哺乳动物。Kermitops头骨上的特殊细节或特征为研究人员提供了更多关于两栖动物历史的信息。
Calvin So is a George Washington University doctoral student. And he is the lead writer of the study recently released in the publication Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
Calvin So是乔治华盛顿大学的博士生。他是最近发表在《林奈学会动物学杂志》上的这项研究的主要作者。
So said Kermitops helps researchers understand the early history of amphibians by showing there is not a clear history "of step by step becoming more like the modern amphibian."
因此，Kermitops表示，通过展示“一步步变得更像现代两栖动物”的清晰历史，这有助于研究人员了解两栖动物的早期历史。
The fossil was collected in 1984 near Lake Kemp in Texas. It was kept in the large collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. But it was not fully studied until recently.
该化石于1984年在德克萨斯州的肯普湖附近被收集。它被保存在华盛顿特区史密森学会国家自然历史博物馆的大量收藏中，但直到最近才得到全面研究。
Kermitops had facial features that were similar to frogs and salamanders. But it had palpebral bones or eyelid bones, that are not found in modern amphibians.
Kermitops的面部特征与青蛙和蝾螈相似。但它有眼睑骨或眼睑骨，这在现代两栖动物中是找不到的。
So said, "The length of the skull in front of the eyes is longer than the length of the skull behind the eyes, which differs from the other fossil amphibians living at the same time." He added that it might have enabled Kermitops to close its mouth faster than others to capture insects as food.
他说:“眼睛前面的头骨长度比眼睛后面的头骨长度长，这与同一时期生活的其他两栖动物化石不同。”他补充说，这可能使Kermitops能够比其他动物更快地闭上嘴巴，捕捉昆虫作为食物。
So added, "We really thought it looked like Kermit the Frog." That led researchers to name it Kermitops, meaning "Kermit face."
他补充说:“我们真的认为它看起来像青蛙克米特。”这让研究人员将其命名为Kermitops，意思是“克米特脸”。
Kermitops lived about 20 million years before the worst mass die-off, or extinction, in Earth's history. And it appeared about 40 million years before the first dinosaurs. It lived alongside other members that formed the amphibian group.
Kermitops生活在地球历史上最严重的大规模灭绝或灭绝之前大约2000万年。它比第一批恐龙早4000万年出现。它和其他组成两栖动物群体的成员生活在一起。
The environment in which Kermitops lived appears to have changed back and forth between warm and wet seasons and hot and dry seasons.
Kermitops生活的环境似乎在温暖潮湿的季节和炎热干燥的季节之间来回变化。
So said, "This environment would be similar to modern-day monsoons that take place in the Southwest U.S. and Southeast Asia."
他说:“这种环境类似于美国西南部和东南亚的现代季风。”
The fossil record of early amphibians and their ancestors is not complete. That makes it difficult to understand the beginnings of modern amphibians.
早期两栖动物及其祖先的化石记录是不完整的。这使得人们很难理解现代两栖动物的起源。
Arjan Mann of the National Museum of Natural History helped write the study. He said Kermitops shows the importance "of continuing to add new fossil data to understanding this evolutionary problem."
国家自然历史博物馆的Arjan Mann帮助撰写了这项研究。他说，Kermitops显示了“继续增加新的化石数据以理解这一进化问题”的重要性。
