Ancient Sea Monster Remains Found in Argentina
Download Argentine scientists have discovered the remains of a fierce sea monster that terrorized Pacific waters in the age of the dinosaurs. The researchers are calling it Godzilla after the legendary movie monster, but it really was an ancestor of modern crocodiles. 阿根廷科学家发现了一种凶猛的海洋怪物的遗迹，这种海洋怪物在恐龙时代横行太平洋海域。研究人员根据一部科幻电影中怪物主角的名字给它起了一个绰号叫“哥斯拉”。这个怪物实际上是现代鳄鱼的祖先。What has a head like a meat eating dinosaur and a tail like a fish? An ancient sea reptile called a dakosaur. 什么东西有像食肉类恐龙的头和鱼的尾巴？这就是古代海洋爬行类动物达科龙(Dakosaur)。Millions of years ago when dinosaurs ruled the land, these early crocodiles dominated the oceans, but they never seem to have caught the public's imagination as dinosaurs have. 多少百万年前， 当恐龙统治陆地时，这些早期的鳄鱼主宰着海洋。不过他们从没有像恐龙那样勾起人们的想象。Perhaps this will change with the discovery of a 135- million-year-old dakosaur skull and two lower jaws in the Patagonia desert of southern Argentina. The researchers who describe it in the journal Science call it Dakosaurus andiniensis, the Andean Dakosaur, to contrast it to those that swam in other parts of the world at the time. What a contrast it is. 不过在阿根廷南部巴塔哥尼亚沙漠发现的有一亿三千五百万年历史的达科龙的一块头骨和两块下腭骨也许会改变这一情况。把这一发现发表在“科学”杂志上的研究人员称呼这一达科龙品种为安第斯达科龙, 以便同这一时期在地球其他区域游弋的达科龙做比较。"At first glance, it was evident that Dakosaurus andiniensis was truly unique among marine crocodiles," said Diego Pol, an expert on ancient animals at the Ohio State University. 参加这一研究项目的俄亥厄州立大学的古生物专家迭戈·波尔说：“第一眼看上去， 达科龙和其他海里的鳄鱼真的是完全不一样。”He took part in the research and says the creature was distinct from its crocodile cousins of the Jurassic era because it had a tall, short head shaped like a bullet and large, powerful, serrated teeth that seem to belong in a dinosaur's mouth. 他说， 这个生物和侏罗纪时期它的远亲鳄鱼截然不同， 因为它有着一个高高的、很短的，形状像子弹一样的头颈，还有像是恐龙的巨大、有力、锯齿般的牙齿。These features indicate that it was a predator capable of gobbling reptiles and other large sea life, filling a niche eventually taken over by large sharks. In contrast, other dakosaurs and their modern crocodile descendants have long, thin snouts and many thin teeth suitable for feeding on smaller, more agile prey such as fish. 这些特征表明它是能够吞噬爬虫类动物和其他大型海洋生物的食肉动物。它所在的生态链的环节最终被大鲨鱼所取代。相反，其它的达科龙和他们的现代鳄鱼后代则有着长长的、尖尖的嘴巴，和许多细小的牙齿，适合吃一些较小的、灵活的东西，例如鱼之类的海洋生物。 "We find these results extremely interesting because they indicate that the diversity of crocodiles back in the Jurassic was much greater than expected," he added. 波尔说：“我们发现的这些结果非常有趣， 因为他们显示在侏罗纪时期鳄鱼种类的多样性远远超出我们的期待。”Based on the size of the skull, Mr. Pol and his colleagues from the National University of La Plata, Argentina estimate that the creature was four meters long. They infer its body shape based on a computer program that analyzed the fossils and found that they most resemble the early crocodile branch that had flippers and a fish-like tail instead of four feet and a tail like modern crocodiles. 根据头骨的大小， 波尔和其他来自阿根廷国立拉普拉塔大学的同事估计这个生物有四米长， 他们是根据计算机程序来推断出它的身体形状，并且通过化石分析发现， 他们极其类似早期的拥有鳍和像鱼一样的尾巴的鳄鱼分支，不像现代鳄鱼那样有四只脚和尾巴。"This analysis revealed that the anatomical changes along the evolution of the Dakosaurus lineage were clearly the most drastic evolutionary change in the history of marine crocodiles. This places the 135-million-year-old Dakosaurus andiniensis not only as one of the most recent members of this family, but also as the most bizarre marine crocodile known today," he explained. 这一分析显示，在达科龙分支进化解剖学上的变化，无疑是海洋类鳄鱼进化史上最剧烈的进化演变。这些有一亿三千五百万年历史的达科龙不仅是鳄鱼家族的最新成员之一， 而且也是今天所知的最奇异的海洋鳄鱼。” The National Geographic Society in Washington, which sponsored the research, says dakosaurs were only one of the monsters that cavorted in the world's oceans between 250 million and 65 million years ago. Back then shallow seas and a lack of significant marine predators created new opportunities for many reptiles that had first developed on land. They included such beasts as giant ichthyosaurs that might have reached 25 meters in length and plesiosaurs with seven-meter-long necks reminiscent of the fabled Loch Ness monster in Scotland. 赞助这一研究的美国华盛顿国家地理协会表示， 达科龙是两亿五千万年前到六千五百万年前活跃在地球海洋世界的怪物之一。而在当时的浅海区，由于没有大型的海洋食肉动物，这给许多爬虫类动物创造了新的机会，使他们第一次登上陆地。这些动物包括有着25米长庞大身躯的鱼龙和让人想起苏格兰尼斯湖怪兽故事的有着七米长脖子的蛇颈龙。Diego Pol says that all dakosaurs became extinct by the end of the Cretaceous era 65 million years ago, leaving us with only a fraction of the crocodile diversity of that long ago time. 迭戈·波尔说， 所有达科龙在六千五百万年前的白垩纪时期都绝迹了。只留给我们很久以前生物变种时留下的鳄鱼分支。 "This pattern of extinctions is what we see in the fossil record of all species. It is fairly common to see that a species or family has its own moment where it diversifies and later goes extinct. The most famous case of this is the large dinosaurs that disappeared by the end of the Cretaceous," he said. 波尔说：“这种物种灭绝和我们在所有种类化石记录中所看到的一样。很清楚也很普通，我们看到每个品种或类别都有着品种多样化然后灭绝的时候。最有名的是大型恐龙在白垩纪晚期消失的例子。”You might call these ferocious meat-eating dakosaurs, the dinosaurs of the sea, animals that shared the world at the same time. 你可以称呼这些凶猛的达科龙是海里的恐龙，它们在那个时期和陆地上的恐龙分享着这个星球。Although they are no longer around, their smaller crocodile descendants, who split their time between land and water, are no friendlier and might just as well be avoided. 尽管它们已经灭绝了，但是比它们小一些的水陆两栖还不太友好的鳄鱼后代们，却存活了下来。
Download
Argentine scientists have discovered the remains of a fierce sea monster that terrorized Pacific waters in the age of the dinosaurs. The researchers are calling it Godzilla after the legendary movie monster, but it really was an ancestor of modern crocodiles.
阿根廷科学家发现了一种凶猛的海洋怪物的遗迹，这种海洋怪物在恐龙时代横行太平洋海域。研究人员根据一部科幻电影中怪物主角的名字给它起了一个绰号叫“哥斯拉”。这个怪物实际上是现代鳄鱼的祖先。What has a head like a meat eating dinosaur and a tail like a fish? An ancient sea reptile called a dakosaur.
什么东西有像食肉类恐龙的头和鱼的尾巴？这就是古代海洋爬行类动物达科龙(Dakosaur)。Millions of years ago when dinosaurs ruled the land, these early crocodiles dominated the oceans, but they never seem to have caught the public's imagination as dinosaurs have.
多少百万年前， 当恐龙统治陆地时，这些早期的鳄鱼主宰着海洋。不过他们从没有像恐龙那样勾起人们的想象。Perhaps this will change with the discovery of a 135- million-year-old dakosaur skull and two lower jaws in the Patagonia desert of southern Argentina. The researchers who describe it in the journal Science call it Dakosaurus andiniensis, the Andean Dakosaur, to contrast it to those that swam in other parts of the world at the time. What a contrast it is.
不过在阿根廷南部巴塔哥尼亚沙漠发现的有一亿三千五百万年历史的达科龙的一块头骨和两块下腭骨也许会改变这一情况。把这一发现发表在“科学”杂志上的研究人员称呼这一达科龙品种为安第斯达科龙, 以便同这一时期在地球其他区域游弋的达科龙做比较。"At first glance, it was evident that Dakosaurus andiniensis was truly unique among marine crocodiles," said Diego Pol, an expert on ancient animals at the Ohio State University.
参加这一研究项目的俄亥厄州立大学的古生物专家迭戈·波尔说：“第一眼看上去， 达科龙和其他海里的鳄鱼真的是完全不一样。”He took part in the research and says the creature was distinct from its crocodile cousins of the Jurassic era because it had a tall, short head shaped like a bullet and large, powerful, serrated teeth that seem to belong in a dinosaur's mouth.
他说， 这个生物和侏罗纪时期它的远亲鳄鱼截然不同， 因为它有着一个高高的、很短的，形状像子弹一样的头颈，还有像是恐龙的巨大、有力、锯齿般的牙齿。These features indicate that it was a predator capable of gobbling reptiles and other large sea life, filling a niche eventually taken over by large sharks. In contrast, other dakosaurs and their modern crocodile descendants have long, thin snouts and many thin teeth suitable for feeding on smaller, more agile prey such as fish.
这些特征表明它是能够吞噬爬虫类动物和其他大型海洋生物的食肉动物。它所在的生态链的环节最终被大鲨鱼所取代。相反，其它的达科龙和他们的现代鳄鱼后代则有着长长的、尖尖的嘴巴，和许多细小的牙齿，适合吃一些较小的、灵活的东西，例如鱼之类的海洋生物。 "We find these results extremely interesting because they indicate that the diversity of crocodiles back in the Jurassic was much greater than expected," he added.
波尔说：“我们发现的这些结果非常有趣， 因为他们显示在侏罗纪时期鳄鱼种类的多样性远远超出我们的期待。”Based on the size of the skull, Mr. Pol and his colleagues from the National University of La Plata, Argentina estimate that the creature was four meters long. They infer its body shape based on a computer program that analyzed the fossils and found that they most resemble the early crocodile branch that had flippers and a fish-like tail instead of four feet and a tail like modern crocodiles.
根据头骨的大小， 波尔和其他来自阿根廷国立拉普拉塔大学的同事估计这个生物有四米长， 他们是根据计算机程序来推断出它的身体形状，并且通过化石分析发现， 他们极其类似早期的拥有鳍和像鱼一样的尾巴的鳄鱼分支，不像现代鳄鱼那样有四只脚和尾巴。"This analysis revealed that the anatomical changes along the evolution of the Dakosaurus lineage were clearly the most drastic evolutionary change in the history of marine crocodiles. This places the 135-million-year-old Dakosaurus andiniensis not only as one of the most recent members of this family, but also as the most bizarre marine crocodile known today," he explained.
这一分析显示，在达科龙分支进化解剖学上的变化，无疑是海洋类鳄鱼进化史上最剧烈的进化演变。这些有一亿三千五百万年历史的达科龙不仅是鳄鱼家族的最新成员之一， 而且也是今天所知的最奇异的海洋鳄鱼。” The National Geographic Society in Washington, which sponsored the research, says dakosaurs were only one of the monsters that cavorted in the world's oceans between 250 million and 65 million years ago. Back then shallow seas and a lack of significant marine predators created new opportunities for many reptiles that had first developed on land. They included such beasts as giant ichthyosaurs that might have reached 25 meters in length and plesiosaurs with seven-meter-long necks reminiscent of the fabled Loch Ness monster in Scotland.
赞助这一研究的美国华盛顿国家地理协会表示， 达科龙是两亿五千万年前到六千五百万年前活跃在地球海洋世界的怪物之一。而在当时的浅海区，由于没有大型的海洋食肉动物，这给许多爬虫类动物创造了新的机会，使他们第一次登上陆地。这些动物包括有着25米长庞大身躯的鱼龙和让人想起苏格兰尼斯湖怪兽故事的有着七米长脖子的蛇颈龙。Diego Pol says that all dakosaurs became extinct by the end of the Cretaceous era 65 million years ago, leaving us with only a fraction of the crocodile diversity of that long ago time.
迭戈·波尔说， 所有达科龙在六千五百万年前的白垩纪时期都绝迹了。只留给我们很久以前生物变种时留下的鳄鱼分支。 "This pattern of extinctions is what we see in the fossil record of all species. It is fairly common to see that a species or family has its own moment where it diversifies and later goes extinct. The most famous case of this is the large dinosaurs that disappeared by the end of the Cretaceous," he said.
波尔说：“这种物种灭绝和我们在所有种类化石记录中所看到的一样。很清楚也很普通，我们看到每个品种或类别都有着品种多样化然后灭绝的时候。最有名的是大型恐龙在白垩纪晚期消失的例子。”You might call these ferocious meat-eating dakosaurs, the dinosaurs of the sea, animals that shared the world at the same time.
你可以称呼这些凶猛的达科龙是海里的恐龙，它们在那个时期和陆地上的恐龙分享着这个星球。Although they are no longer around, their smaller crocodile descendants, who split their time between land and water, are no friendlier and might just as well be avoided.
尽管它们已经灭绝了，但是比它们小一些的水陆两栖还不太友好的鳄鱼后代们，却存活了下来。
返回>>列表
