中国发现4.19亿年前的森林化石

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.

在中国发现了4.19亿年前的森林化石，这让研究人员对海洋生命开始出现的时间有了新的认识。

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.

这块场地大约有35个足球场那么大(25万平方米，260万平方英尺)，是在中国安徽省新航附近发现的。泥盆纪的森林里满是石松，一种类似棕榈树的无枝树。该地区是已知的三大森林之一，其他森林位于美国和挪威。

“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.

该研究的合著者之一王德明在一份声明中说:“尽管新航森林中的植物呈块状分布，但树木密度大、体积小，可能会让新航森林与甘蔗田非常相似。”

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.”

王德明补充说:“也有可能新航石松林和沿海的红树林很像，因为它们生长在相似的环境中，发挥着相似的生态作用。”

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.

这些石松通常不到3.2米(10.5英尺)高，但它们最高可以长到7.7米(25.3英尺)——比长颈鹿还高。

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.

泥盆纪结束于3.59亿年前，被称为“鱼的时代”。泥盆纪之后，石炭纪出现了巨大的石松。这些巨大的石松成为了今天开采的煤炭的一部分。

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.

在剑川和永川粘土采石场的墙壁上，可以看到4米(13.1英尺)厚的砂岩层下面和上面的树木化石。王德明指出，其他的化石发现还包括一个松果类结构，有巨大的孢子和一些用来估计树高度的树干化石。

The research was published in the scientific journal Current Biology.

这项研究发表在科学杂志《当代生物学》上。