2022年12月13日 VOA慢速英语：鹅颈恐龙长得像潜水鸟

 

The expansive dinosaur group that includes big hunters like the T. rex has a strange new member. Its bones were found in Mongolia.
庞大的恐龙群中有像霸王龙这样的大型猎手，有一个奇怪的新成员。它的骨头是在蒙古发现的。
 
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.
科学家将这种新恐龙命名为Natovenator polydontus。他们说这大约是一种叫做鹅的鸟的大小和形状。它的脖子也很长，类似于鹅的脖子。
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，科学家说，它不是鸟。研究表明这种动物是半水生动物，这意味着它一生的大部分时间都在水中度过。
 
 
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.
它生活在大约 7200 万年前的白垩纪时期。它的体型像一只潜水鸟，身体适合在水中快速游动。科学家说，它的嘴里大约有 100 颗小牙齿。而且，他们说他们相信恐龙身上覆盖着羽毛。
 
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.
韩国首尔国立大学的 Yuong-Nam Lee 是这项发表在《通讯生物学》杂志上的研究的主要作者。他说 Natovenator 有许多“独特”的品质。
 
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龙 Velociraptor 的近亲。但是Natovenator适应了涉及淡水环境的生活。研究人员说，这种动物可能漂浮在河流和湖泊上，潜水捕猎，并用它的长脖子捕捉鱼和昆虫。
 
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 的骨架大约完成了 70%。它出土于戈壁滩。近代历史上在沙漠中发现了许多恐龙骨骼。
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 是兽脚类恐龙的一部分。他们有一些共同的特点，比如用两只脚走路，或双足行走。该群体以霸王龙等大型食肉动物而闻名。但是包括所有鸟类在内的这个群体有很多种恐龙。
 
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.
阿尔伯塔大学的 Philip Currie 帮助撰写了这项研究。他说，“到白垩纪末期，兽脚类恐龙的多样性非常惊人。”他相信未来会发现更多奇特的兽脚类恐龙。
 
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.
被称为“非鸟类”或鸟类的恐龙中，没有多少是已知过半水生生活方式的。 Natovenator 的近亲 Halszkaraptor 于 2017 年被描述，它在大致相同的时间在同一地区过着类似的生活方式。两者都具有非常像鸟类的外观，与鸟类密切相关。
 
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 长约 45 厘米，头骨或头骨长约 7 厘米。它的前“翅膀”或四肢显得有些扁平。他们本可以适应游泳。通过指向身体末端或尾巴的肋骨显示出在水中游泳能力的增强或身体的流线型。这个位置经常出现在潜水鸟身上。它允许更好地游泳。
 
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.
在白垩纪期间有不同的潜水鸟类，包括北美的 Hesperornis，其身长约 1.8 米。但 Natoventor 居住的地区无人知晓。
 
"More than 30 different lineages of tetrapods (terrestrial vertebrates) have independently invaded water ecosystems," Lee said. "Why not dinosaurs?"
“超过 30 种不同的四足动物（陆生脊椎动物）谱系已独立侵入水生态系统，”Lee 说。 “为什么不是恐龙？”