侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第4期:顶级掠食者

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　　玛君龙在七千多万年前很繁盛。

　　Fossil evidence proves that the island of Madagascar teemed¹ with a variety of plants and animals.

　　化石证据证明了马达加斯加岛满是种类繁多的动植物。

　　But Majungasaurus was at the top of the food chain, the ultimate predator².

　　不过玛君龙处于食物链的顶端是终极掠食者。

　　Every environment has an apex³ predator, that is the ultimate predator at the top of the food chain.

　　每种环境里都有顶级掠食者，就是位于食物链顶端的终极掠食者。

　　On North America, Tyrannosaurus-Rex was that apex predator.

　　在北美洲，霸王龙是顶级掠食者。

　　But on the island of Madagascar, it was Majungasaurus.

　　不过在马达加斯加岛，则是玛君龙。

　　Majungasaurus was the top predator in its community.

　　玛君龙是它的环境里的顶级掠食者。

　　In general, it would've spent its day stalking around for prey⁴, killing⁵ something,and when it killed it, ate it, and rested for a while.

　　一般情况下，它会整天搜寻猎物然后杀死并吃掉，然后休息一会儿。

　　As more bones emerged from the site, scientists began to get a clearer picture of the size and shape of this creature.

　　随着出土的骨头越来越多，对这种生物的大小和形态科学家们有了更清晰的认识。

　　He was a two-legged predator, standing⁶ three meters tall, nine meters long and weighing one ton, the same as a baby elephant.

　　它是一种两足行走的掠食者，站起来有三米高长达九米、重量有一吨相当于一头幼年大象。

　　Along with its size and a reinforced head butting⁷ skull⁸, Majungasaurus had a even more dangerous mouthful of serrated teeth.

　　除了有壮硕的身体和结实的头颅，玛君龙满口的锯齿形牙齿更加危险。

　　Closer inspection⁹ of the jaws¹⁰ would reveal that, like a shark, Majungasaurus had rows of teeth that continuously replaced themselves.

　　仔细检查它的颌骨就能发现玛君龙和鲨鱼一样有多排牙齿能够不停地自我更新。

　　The teeth of Majungasaurus were pretty incredible. They were replaced throughout its entire life.

　　玛君龙的牙齿挺不可思议。它们一直都在不断地更新。

　　When a tooth got dull, it would fall out and be replaced by a brand new tooth.

　　当一颗牙变钝了就会掉下被换成一颗新牙。

　　They were also serrated on both of front and back edges making them perfect for slicing meat.

　　而且前后边缘都有锯齿，非常适合切肉。

　　Majungasaurus still had a further weapon that was capable of delivering a lethal¹¹ blow, its massive tail.

　　玛君龙还有一样武器也能够给出致命一击，就是巨大的尾巴。

　　With reinforced bones and powerful muscles, the dinosaur¹² could wield¹³ its tail like a oversized baton¹⁴.

　　尾巴上有加强的骨头和有力的肌肉，挥动起来就像超大的警棍。

　　Although Majungasaurus was a force to reckon with, it was not without shortcomings.

　　尽管玛君龙的威力惊人，它也有自己的缺点。

　　Even the king of the jungle has weaknesses. A first was its unusually small arms.

　　这个丛林之王也有薄弱环节。首先就是它异常小的前肢。

 

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