發現全世界最古老的蟒蛇

原文網址：https://www.senckenberg.de/en/pressemeldungen/messel-worlds-oldest-python-found/

化石指出這類巨蛇的起源為歐洲

森根堡自然史博物館的科學家Krister Smith和聖保羅大學的同僚Hussam Zaher合作之下，描述了目前所知世上最古老的蟒蛇化石。這副保存近乎完好的蛇類化石長度大約為一公尺，發現地點為聯合國教科文組織認可的世界遺產「麥塞爾坑」，年代大約為4700萬年。他們將這種新的蟒蛇命名為Messelopython freyi，以致敬卡爾斯魯厄州立自然史博物館的古生物學家Eberhard “Dino” Frey。研究今日發表在科學期刊《生物學報》(Biology Letters)。

這具新描述的物種Messelopython freyi是化石紀錄中世界上最古老的蟒蛇。圖片來源：森根堡自然史博物館

蟒蛇是世界上最大的蛇類，牠們的身長可以到達6公尺以上。目前世界上有許多這種巨蛇，主要生活在非洲、南亞、東亞與澳洲。任職於森根堡研究所與法蘭克福自然史博物館的Krister Smith博士說：「科學家目前還是不太清楚蟒蛇的地理起源，因此這具在麥塞爾坑發現的新種蟒蛇，可以讓我們對這種蛇類的演化史的理解大幅提升。」

Smith和她在巴西的同僚Hussam Zaher博士描述了這種新的蟒蛇Messelopython freyi，其為目前所知世界上最古老的蟒蛇化石紀錄。Zaher進一步表示：「根據我們的發現，這些蛇類在超過4700萬年前的始新世就已經出現在歐洲了。也就是說我們的分析結果可以把牠們的演化史追溯至歐洲！」

然而，這些巨蛇之後在歐洲大陸消失了好一陣子。到了2300萬年前至500萬年前的中新世才再次出現這種蛇類的化石。Smith說：「隨著中新世結束之後全球氣候再次變冷，蟒蛇也跟著再度消失在歐洲。」

蟒蛇跟蚺蛇是身體構造十分類似的近親。而現在的蟒蛇和蚺蛇的空間分布完全沒有重疊之處，這和麥塞爾發現的原始蟒蛇不同。Smith解釋：「然而，在麥塞爾Messelopython freyi和原始的蚺蛇，像是Eoconstrictor fischeri卻生活在同一個生態系當中。因此對於那些認為這兩種蛇類會彼此競爭，因此無法共享同一個棲地的論文，我們必須要重新審視才行。」

這種蛇的學名結合了發現地點以及其所屬的科。新發現的化石種名則是致敬卡爾斯魯厄州立自然史博物館的Eberhard“Dino”Frey教授。Smith解釋了這具化石的命名由來：「Eberhard Frey的綽號『恐龍』其來有自，因為他是世界知名專門研究爬蟲類化石的學者。我們希望透過以他的名字來命名這具新物種，可以彰顯他在古生物學領域中的成就。」

 

World’s oldest python found

Fossils suggest that the constrictors’ origin lies in Europe

Together with his colleague Hussam Zaher of the University in São Paulo, Senckenberg scientist Krister Smith described the world’s oldest known fossils of a python. The almost completely preserved snakes with a length around one meter were discovered in the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Messel Pit” and are about 47 million years old. The new python species, Messelopython freyi, was named in honor of paleontologist Eberhard “Dino” Frey of the State Museum of Natural History in Karlsruhe. The study was published today in the scientific journal Biology Letters.

Reaching a length of more than six meters, pythons are among the world’s largest snakes. Today, various species of these constrictors are found primarily in Africa, Southern and Southeast Asia, and Australia. “The geographic origin of pythons is still not clear. The discovery of a new python species in the Messel Pit is therefore a major leap forward in understanding these snakes’ evolutionary history,” explains Dr. Krister Smith of the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum in Frankfurt.

The new python species Messelopython freyi described by Smith and his Brazilian colleague, Dr. Hussam Zaher, is the oldest known fossil record of a python anywhere in the world. “According to our findings, these snakes already occurred in Europe at the time of the Eocene, over 47 million years ago. Our analyses trace their evolutionary history to Europe!” adds Zaher.

However, the large constrictor snakes subsequently disappeared from the European continent for quite some time. Fossils of this snake family did not appear again until the Miocene – between 23 and 5 million years ago. “As the global climate began to cool again after the Miocene, the pythons once again disappeared from Europe,” says Smith.

Contrary to the primeval python from Messel, modern pythons live in complete spatial separation from their anatomically very similar relatives, the boas. “However, in Messel, both Messelopython freyi as well as primitive boas such as Eoconstrictor fischeri lived together in the same ecosystem – we therefore have to revisit the thesis that these two groups of snakes competed with each other, making them unable to share the same habitats,” explains Smith.

The snake’s scientific name is a combination of the locality where it was found and the snake’s family. The specific epithet of the newly discovered fossil is owed to Prof. Dr. Eberhard Frey of the State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe. “Eberhard Frey bears the nickname ‘Dino’ for a good reason – he is world-renowned for his exacting studies of fossil reptiles. By naming a new species after him, we wanted to honor his accomplishments in the field of paleontology,” adds Smith to explain the fossil’s naming.

原始論文：Hussam Zaher and Krister T. Smith. Pythons in the Eocene of Europe reveal a much older divergence of the group in sympatry with boas. Biology Letters, 2020; 16 (12): 20200735 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0735

引用自：Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum.” World’s Oldest Python Found”