The fossil (化石)discovery in Victoria now shows that monk seals were widespread in Australasia in the past.

“Monk seals are one of the rarest and most endangered marine mammals (海洋哺乳动物)alive today, but this wasn’t always the case,” according to lead study author Dr. James Rule from Monash University. “Our paper shows that the very endangered monk seals once called Australia home about five million years ago(specifically in Victoria),” he said.

The discovery was made by studying two fossils again from Melbourne Museum’s collections, the identity of which had been a mystery for 40 years. “When we studied them, they turned out to be the oldest evidence of monk seals,” Dr. Rule said. “These fossils, along with the extinct New Zealand species that was discovered last year, double the known diversity of the monk seals,” he said.

According to Dr. Rule, monk seals disappeared in Australasia three million years ago, and they only lived in the tropics (热带地区)and the Mediterranean after temperatures fell during the Ice Ages. This left monk seals on the edge of disappearance after being overhunted by humans, with about 2,000 members left.

The discovery of New Zealand species and Australian monk seals led the researchers to restudy the origin of the group. “Our research shows that monk seals began in Australia,” Dr. Rule said. “This is different from every theory previously put forward by scientists.”

Previous research has theorized climate change led to the disappearance of many ancient seals in the Southern Hemisphere. This would have included New Zealand’s and Australian monk seals. “This suggests the world’s last two species of monk seal are also at risk from climate change,” Dr. Rule said. If sea level continues to rise, the beaches monk seals rely on for resting and raising young ones may disappear.

【小题1】What does the new discovery show about monk seals?

A．Their living habits.	B．Their growth process.
C．Their early appearance.	D．Their ways of getting food.

【小题2】What do we know about the two fossils from Melbourne Museum?

A．Researcher found it hard to keep them in good condition.

B．Researchers manged to identify them after many years.

C．They were once thought to be fossils of birds.

D．They were first discovered last year.

【小题3】What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 4 probably refer to?

A．Fighting water pollution.	B．Suffering from a lack of food.
C．Having limited living places.	D．Facing increasing natural enemies.

【小题4】What does the author want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A．Climate change always threatens monk seals’ survival.

B．Scientists can now measure the rate of global warming.

C．Human activity in Australia should be strictly limited.

D．People need to help raise young monk seals.