2022年12月13日 VOA慢速英語：鵝頸恐龍長得像潛水鳥

 

The expansive dinosaur group that includes big hunters like the T. rex has a strange new member. Its bones were found in Mongolia.
龐大的恐龍群中有像霸王龍這樣的大型獵手，有一個奇怪的新成員。它的骨頭是在蒙古發(fā)現(xiàn)的。
 
Scientists named the new dinosaur Natovenator polydontus. They say it was about the size and shape of the bird called a goose. It also had a long neck, similar to a goose's.
科學(xué)家將這種新恐龍命名為Natovenator polydontus。他們說這大約是一種叫做鵝的鳥的大小和形狀。它的脖子也很長，類似于鵝的脖子。
But, it was not a bird, the scientists say. The research suggests the animal was semi-aquatic, meaning it spent much of its life in water.
但是，科學(xué)家說，它不是鳥。研究表明這種動物是半水生動物，這意味著它一生的大部分時間都在水中度過。
 
 
It lived about 72 million years ago during a period of time called the Cretaceous Period. It was built like a diving bird, with a body meant for quickly swimming in water. Inside its mouth, were about 100 small teeth, the scientists said. And, they said they believe the dinosaur was covered in feathers.
它生活在大約 7200 萬年前的白堊紀(jì)時期。它的體型像一只潛水鳥，身體適合在水中快速游動?？茖W(xué)家說，它的嘴里大約有 100 顆小牙齒。而且，他們說他們相信恐龍身上覆蓋著羽毛。
 
Yuong-Nam Lee of Seoul National University in South Korea is lead writer of the research published in the journal Communications Biology. He said Natovenator has many "peculiar" qualities.
韓國首爾國立大學(xué)的 Yuong-Nam Lee 是這項發(fā)表在《通訊生物學(xué)》雜志上的研究的主要作者。他說 Natovenator 有許多“獨(dú)特”的品質(zhì)。
 
It was the cousin of the speedy little meat-eating dinosaur the Velociraptor. But Natovenator was adapted to a life that involved a freshwater environment. The researchers said the animal may have floated on rivers and lakes, diving to hunt and using its long neck to catch fish and insects.
它是迅猛的小型食肉恐龍 Velociraptor 的近親。但是Natovenator適應(yīng)了涉及淡水環(huán)境的生活。研究人員說，這種動物可能漂浮在河流和湖泊上，潛水捕獵，并用它的長脖子捕捉魚和昆蟲。
 
Natovenator's skeleton is about 70 percent complete. It was unearthed in the Gobi Desert. Many dinosaur skeletons have been found in the desert in recent history.
Natovenator 的骨架大約完成了 70%。它出土于戈壁灘。近代歷史上在沙漠中發(fā)現(xiàn)了許多恐龍骨骼。
Natovenator is part of the dinosaur group called theropods. They share some qualities like walking on two feet, or bipedalism. The group is best known for large meat-eaters like Tyrannosaurus. But the group, which includes all birds, had many kinds of dinosaurs.
Natovenator 是獸腳類恐龍的一部分。他們有一些共同的特點(diǎn)，比如用兩只腳走路，或雙足行走。該群體以霸王龍等大型食肉動物而聞名。但是包括所有鳥類在內(nèi)的這個群體有很多種恐龍。
 
Philip Currie of University of Alberta helped write the study. He said, "The diversity of theropod dinosaurs by the end of the Cretaceous is totally amazing." He believes there will be more discoveries of peculiar theropods in the future.
阿爾伯塔大學(xué)的 Philip Currie 幫助撰寫了這項研究。他說，“到白堊紀(jì)末期，獸腳類恐龍的多樣性非常驚人。”他相信未來會發(fā)現(xiàn)更多奇特的獸腳類恐龍。
 
Not many of the dinosaurs called "non-avian," or not the birds, are known to have lived a semi-aquatic lifestyle. A close relative of Natovenator named Halszkaraptor, described in 2017, lived a similar lifestyle during roughly the same time in the same area. Both had a very bird-like appearance and were closely related to birds.
被稱為“非鳥類”或鳥類的恐龍中，沒有多少是已知過半水生生活方式的。 Natovenator 的近親 Halszkaraptor 于 2017 年被描述，它在大致相同的時間在同一地區(qū)過著類似的生活方式。兩者都具有非常像鳥類的外觀，與鳥類密切相關(guān)。
 
Natovenator measured about 45 centimeters long and had a head bone, or skull, about 7 centimeters long. It's front "wings," or limbs, appeared somewhat flattened. They could have been adapted for swimming. The increased ability to swim in water, or streamlining of its body, is shown by ribs that point toward the end of the body, or tail. That placement often appears in diving birds. It permits for better swimming.
Natovenator 長約 45 厘米，頭骨或頭骨長約 7 厘米。它的前“翅膀”或四肢顯得有些扁平。他們本可以適應(yīng)游泳。通過指向身體末端或尾巴的肋骨顯示出在水中游泳能力的增強(qiáng)或身體的流線型。這個位置經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)在潛水鳥身上。它允許更好地游泳。
 
There were different diving birds during the Cretaceous, including North America's Hesperornis, which reached about 1.8 meters long. But none are known from the area Natoventor lived.
在白堊紀(jì)期間有不同的潛水鳥類，包括北美的 Hesperornis，其身長約 1.8 米。但 Natoventor 居住的地區(qū)無人知曉。
 
"More than 30 different lineages of tetrapods (terrestrial vertebrates) have independently invaded water ecosystems," Lee said. "Why not dinosaurs?"
“超過 30 種不同的四足動物（陸生脊椎動物）譜系已獨(dú)立侵入水生態(tài)系統(tǒng)，”Lee 說。 “為什么不是恐龍？”