Sea Reptile Fossils Suggest It Was a Filter-feeder
2023-08-14
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1Baleen whales, such as the blue whale, are huge sea animals.
2Baleen describes a filter-feeding system in their mouths through which they can eat huge amounts of very small ocean animals.
3But, it appears now that whales were not the first sea animals to filter-feed.
4Scientists recently reported their findings from a study of ancient remains of a sea reptile called Hupehsuchus nanchangensis.
5The fossils were unearthed in China's Hubei area.
6The study appeared in the publication BMC Ecology and Evolution.
7Hupehsuchus lived 248 million years ago, during the Triassic Period.
8Scientists say its fossil presents evidence of a filter-feed system similar to baleen whales.
9The sea reptile lived during a time of intense biological changes following Earth's worst mass extinction.
10Powerful volcanic bursts led to severe warming, destroying many kinds of life.
11Unlike blue whales, Hupehsuchus was not large.
12The animal measured about one meter long, fossils show.
13Its mouth was narrow and toothless.
14It had a large tail that moved from side to side for swimming forward, and had front and back limbs to help it turn.
15Its lower jaw was only loosely connected to the rest of the head bone.
16This permitted the animal to open its mouth widely to take in a large amount of water and the animals, zooplankton, it carried.
17The baleen structure is made up of keratin, a soft organic material.
18The baleen traps little sea animals but lets the seawater flow out.
19The researchers found evidence along the jaws suggesting the presence of soft tissues that could have served as baleen.
20Paleontologist Mike Benton was a study writer.
21"Altogether, this points to a soft pouch made of skin around the mouth and throat, as in modern baleen whales, and some kind of filtering device hanging from the jaws, like baleen," Benton said.
22But, he added, the baleen and skin was not fossilized.
23Paleontologist Long Cheng of the Wuhan Center of China Geological is the study's lead writer.
24He said Hupehsuchus would have continuously filter-fed at slow swimming speeds.
25He also said the animal would have fed in areas with a dense amount of zooplankton.
26Long said Hupehsuchus took in water and the animals together into its mouth, "filtered out the water" and then swallowed the food.
27Researchers first described Hupehsuchus fossils in the 1970s but lacked any good remains of the head.
28The new study involves two new fossils with well-kept head bones, or skulls.
29Many sea creatures use some form of filter-feeding.
30I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Baleen whales, such as the blue whale, are huge sea animals. Baleen describes a filter-feeding system in their mouths through which they can eat huge amounts of very small ocean animals. 2But, it appears now that whales were not the first sea animals to filter-feed. 3Scientists recently reported their findings from a study of ancient remains of a sea reptile called Hupehsuchus nanchangensis. The fossils were unearthed in China's Hubei area. The study appeared in the publication BMC Ecology and Evolution. 4Hupehsuchus lived 248 million years ago, during the Triassic Period. Scientists say its fossil presents evidence of a filter-feed system similar to baleen whales. 5The sea reptile lived during a time of intense biological changes following Earth's worst mass extinction. Powerful volcanic bursts led to severe warming, destroying many kinds of life. 6Unlike blue whales, Hupehsuchus was not large. The animal measured about one meter long, fossils show. Its mouth was narrow and toothless. It had a large tail that moved from side to side for swimming forward, and had front and back limbs to help it turn. 7Its lower jaw was only loosely connected to the rest of the head bone. This permitted the animal to open its mouth widely to take in a large amount of water and the animals, zooplankton, it carried. 8The baleen structure is made up of keratin, a soft organic material. The baleen traps little sea animals but lets the seawater flow out. 9The researchers found evidence along the jaws suggesting the presence of soft tissues that could have served as baleen. 10Paleontologist Mike Benton was a study writer. 11"Altogether, this points to a soft pouch made of skin around the mouth and throat, as in modern baleen whales, and some kind of filtering device hanging from the jaws, like baleen," Benton said. 12But, he added, the baleen and skin was not fossilized. 13Paleontologist Long Cheng of the Wuhan Center of China Geological is the study's lead writer. He said Hupehsuchus would have continuously filter-fed at slow swimming speeds. He also said the animal would have fed in areas with a dense amount of zooplankton. 14Long said Hupehsuchus took in water and the animals together into its mouth, "filtered out the water" and then swallowed the food. 15Researchers first described Hupehsuchus fossils in the 1970s but lacked any good remains of the head. The new study involves two new fossils with well-kept head bones, or skulls. 16Many sea creatures use some form of filter-feeding. 17I'm Gregory Stachel. 18Will Dunham reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21filter - n. a device that is used to remove something unwanted from a liquid or gas that passes through it 22extinction - n. the state or situation that results when something (such as a plant or animal species) has died out completely 23limb - n. a leg or arm 24paleontology - n. the science that deals with the fossils of animals and plants that lived very long ago especially in the time of dinosaurs 25pouch - n. a pocket of skin inside the mouths of some animals (such as squirrels and hamsters) that is used to carry food 26_________________________________________________ 27What do you think of this story? 28We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 29Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.