背誦為王第四冊第40課
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有羽毛的恐龍
兩年前，中國東北的一位農(nóng)民在一個已經(jīng)干涸的湖床挖地時，挖出了一些樣子很奇怪的化石。他想，這是不是古代龍的遺骸呢？
并非如此。這些骨頭其實是古代一種名叫中華鳥龍的肉食恐龍的化石。中華鳥龍，大小接近一只體型稍大的雞，生活在距今一億兩千萬年前。
身體大小可能不是中華鳥龍和雞唯一的相似之處?？茖W家們宣稱中華鳥龍可能長有微小的羽毛。
很多科學家一直在思考恐龍是否長有羽毛。但是羽毛很脆弱，通常很快就腐爛掉，不會留下痕跡。幸運的是，中華鳥龍化石顯示了很多這方面的細節(jié)。“我過去一直懷疑恐龍長有羽毛這種說法”，加拿大科學家費爾賈利說，“哦，這真是令人難忘?！?
并不是所有人都相信這一點。有些鳥類專家說這些羽毛狀的結(jié)構(gòu)可能是鱗的碎片。不管它們是什么，都不具有適于飛行的尺寸和形狀，可能是用來保暖或者增加吸引配偶的魅力。
科學家們通過研究發(fā)現(xiàn)這些化石的地方，希望能找到羽毛最早什么時候和為什么在地球上出現(xiàn)這個謎題的答案?！斑@些湖床可以追溯到現(xiàn)代哺乳動物、有花植物和鳥類最早出現(xiàn)的年代”，康涅狄格大學的鳥類專家艾倫布魯斯說，“發(fā)現(xiàn)這個遺址的重要性相當于探索火星?！?
Lesson40 Feathered Dinosaur
Two summers ago, a farmer in northeast China was digging in a dried-up lake. He dug up some strange-looking fossilized bones. He wondered: Could these be the remains of ancient dragons?
Not quite. The bones actually belonged to an ancient meat-eating dinosaur named Sinosauropteryx prima. The creature, which was close to the size of a large chicken, lived about 120 million years ago.
Size may not have been the only thing this dinosaur had in common with the chicken. Scientists announced that Sinosauropteryx might have had tiny feathers!
Many scientists had wondered whether some dinosaurs had any feathers. But feathers are so fragile that they usually rot away without a trace. Luckily, the Sinosauropteryx fossils showed a lot of detail. "I had been skeptical of the claim that the dinosaur had feathers," says Canadian scientist Phil Currie. "Boy, was I impressed!"
Not everyone is convinced. Some bird's experts suggest that the feather-like structures may be bits and pieces of scales.
Whatever they are, they are not the right size and shape for flying. They may have been used to keep the dinosaur warm or help it attract a mate.
When and why feathers first appeared on the earth is just one puzzle scientists hope to solve by studying the area where the fossils were found. "These beds date to a time when modern mammals, flowering plants, and birds were invented," says Alan Brush, bird expert at the University of Connecticut. "The discovery of this site is just as important as going to Mars."
dinosaur 恐龍
fossilize 使成化石
prima 第一的, 主要的
Two summers ago, a farmer in northeast China was digging in a dried-up lake. He dug up some strange-looking fossilized bones. He wondered: Could these be the remains of ancient dragons?
Not quite. The bones actually belonged to an ancient meat-eating dinosaur named Sinosauropteryx prima. The creature, which was close to the size of a large chicken, lived about 120 million years ago.
Size may not have been the only thing this dinosaur had in common with the chicken. Scientists announced that Sinosauropteryx might have had tiny feathers!
Many scientists had wondered whether some dinosaurs had any feathers. But feathers are so fragile that they usually rot away without a trace. Luckily, the Sinosauropteryx fossils showed a lot of detail. "I had been skeptical of the claim that the dinosaur had feathers," says Canadian scientist Phil Currie. "Boy, was I impressed!"
Not everyone is convinced. Some bird's experts suggest that the feather-like structures may be bits and pieces of scales.
Whatever they are, they are not the right size and shape for flying. They may have been used to keep the dinosaur warm or help it attract a mate.
When and why feathers first appeared on the earth is just one puzzle scientists hope to solve by studying the area where the fossils were found. "These beds date to a time when modern mammals, flowering plants, and birds were invented," says Alan Brush, bird expert at the University of Connecticut. "The discovery of this site is just as important as going to Mars."
dinosaur 恐龍
fossilize 使成化石
prima 第一的, 主要的
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