发现新的凝胶状动物

山东 李全忠

在一次水下探索过程中，美国的科学家们在波多黎各附近水域发现一种新的凝胶状物种。

Scientists have discovered a new species of ctenophore（栉水母） near Puerto Rico. It was discovered two and a half miles below sea level by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration（NOAA） Fisheries research team. It was found during an underwater expedition using a remotely operated vehicle in 2015 and filmed by a highdefinition camera.

NOAA Fisheries scientists Mike Ford and Allen Collins spotted the ctenophore and recognized it as a new species. This is the first time NOAA scientists have identified a new species using only highdefinition video, according to NOAA.

“The cameras on the Deep Discoverer robot are able to get high-resolution images and measure structures less than a millimeter. We don't have the same microscopes as we would in a lab, but the video can give us enough information to understand the morphology （形态学） in detail, such as the location of their reproductive parts and other aspects,” Collins said.

The scientists also said there was another unique quality to the discovery. During the expedition,they were not able to gather any samples, so the video evidence is all they have.

“Naming of organisms is guided by international code, but some changes have allowed descriptions of new species based on video—certainly when species are rare and when collection is impossible,” Ford said. “When we made these observations, we were 4,000 meters down, using a remote vehicle, and we did not have the capabilities to take a sample.”

The researchers said that they did not initially have a long look at the animal, so there is still a lot about this new species that they do not know yet. Their findings were recently published in the journal Plankton & Benthos Research.

“We're not sure of its role in the ecosystem yet,” Ford said. “We can consider that it serves similar roles to other ctenophores near the ocean floor and it also has some similarities to other ctenophores in open ocean areas,” he said.

Reading Check

1. How did scientists carry out the discovery?

A. By analysing data.

B. By using high-tech tools.

C. By cooperating with many nations.

D. By understanding the morphology.

2. What do we know about the expedition?

A. It's run by Puerto Rico.

B. It's controlled by a robot.

C. It happened beneath the sea.

D. It functioned better in a lab.

3. What's Ford's attitude to the new species' function in the ecosystem?

A. Positive. B. Passive. C. Uncertain. D. Encouraging.

Language Study

Difficult sentence

“Naming of organisms is guided by international code, but some changes have allowed descriptions of new species based on video—certainly when species are rare and when collection is impossible,” Ford said. 福特说：“生物的命名以国际规范为指导，但一些变化使得基于视频的新物种描述成为可能——当然是在物种稀少且无法采集的时候。 ”

【点石成金】本句为一个主从复合句，引号内为直接引语，作said的宾语，其中，but连接两个并列句，when又引导时间状语从句。

Cultural Background

NOAA 是什么

NOAA 是National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 的缩写，指美国国家海洋和大气管理局，隶属于美国商业部下属的科技部门，主要关注地球的大气和海洋变化，提供对灾害性天气的预警，提供海图和空图等，管理对海洋和沿海资源的利用和保护，研究如何改善和保护环境。