Scientists Find World's Oldest-known Animal
2020-06-04
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1A millipede-like creature that was recently discovered in Scotland may be the oldest-known land animal.
2This small, fossilized creature, some 425 million years old, helped lead the way for the many animals that would eventually live on land.
3Researchers said they found the creature's remains on the island of Kerrera in Scotland's Inner Hebrides.
4It lived close to a lake and probably ate dead plants.
5Fossils of the oldest-known plant with a stem were found in the same area.
6While the creature, called Kampecaris obanesis, is the earliest land animal known from a fossil, soil worms are believed to have lived before them - perhaps 450 million years ago.
7That information comes from Michael Brookfield of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Massachusetts Boston.
8Brookfield was the lead writer of the research report that described the findings in the journal Historical Biology.
9Kampecaris was about 2.5 centimeters long.
10It looked like modern millipedes, but it was a member of a group that died out.
11It was not a direct ancestor of the millipedes that live now.
12Life first began in the world's oceans, with a growth in diversity some 540 million years ago.
13Some kinds of plants began appearing on land around 450 million years ago.
14The land vertebrates - animals that have a backbone or spine - showed up some 375 million years ago.
15These animals were the ancestors of the reptiles, birds and mammals that are alive today - including humans.
16Human beings first appeared about 300,000 years ago.
17I'm John Russell.
1A millipede-like creature that was recently discovered in Scotland may be the oldest-known land animal. This small, fossilized creature, some 425 million years old, helped lead the way for the many animals that would eventually live on land. 2Researchers said they found the creature's remains on the island of Kerrera in Scotland's Inner Hebrides. It lived close to a lake and probably ate dead plants. Fossils of the oldest-known plant with a stem were found in the same area. 3While the creature, called Kampecaris obanesis, is the earliest land animal known from a fossil, soil worms are believed to have lived before them - perhaps 450 million years ago. 4That information comes from Michael Brookfield of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Massachusetts Boston. Brookfield was the lead writer of the research report that described the findings in the journal Historical Biology. 5Kampecaris was about 2.5 centimeters long. It looked like modern millipedes, but it was a member of a group that died out. It was not a direct ancestor of the millipedes that live now. 6Life first began in the world's oceans, with a growth in diversity some 540 million years ago. Some kinds of plants began appearing on land around 450 million years ago. The land vertebrates - animals that have a backbone or spine - showed up some 375 million years ago. 7These animals were the ancestors of the reptiles, birds and mammals that are alive today - including humans. 8Human beings first appeared about 300,000 years ago. 9I'm John Russell. 10Will Dunham reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 11We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 12_______________________________________________________________ 13Words in This Story 14millipede - n. a small creature that is like an insect and that has a long, thin body with many legs 15fossilized - adj. having been changed into a fossil. A fossil is something (such as a leaf, skeleton, or footprint) that is from a plant or animal which lived in ancient times and that you can see in some rocks 16worm - n. a long, thin animal that has a soft body with no legs or bones and that often lives in the ground 17diversity - n. the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc. 18spine - n. the row of connected bones down the middle of the back