侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第94期:最孤独的掠食者

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　　在2007年，曼彻斯特大学的古生物学家们取得了一项突破性的发现。

　　By studying the leg bones, musculature and mechanics behind them, they were able to put Allosaurus's top speed at 21 mile per hour, fast for a large predator¹.

　　通过研究异特龙的腿骨，及其后的肌肉系统和机械原理，它们能使异特龙的最快时速达到21英里每小时，对于大型掠食者来说很快了。

　　Allosaurus's build for high speed locomotion².

　　异特龙身体构造适合高速移动。

　　The animal could propel himself along fairly efficiently³, very good lever system for moving himself, powerful leg muscles pulling back to power him along.

　　这个动物能用相当有效地，非常好的杠杆系统驱动自己来使自己移动，强劲的腿部肌肉收缩来使他快速前进。

　　Fast, powerful with deadly adaptations.

　　快速、有力还有致命的适应性的改变。

　　Allosaurus became the ultimate predator of the Jurassic period.

　　异特龙成为了侏罗纪时期的终极掠食者。

　　So was this the dinosaur⁴ responsible for the gash⁵ marks on the bones found at the Colorado site?

　　那么在科罗拉多石场找到的骨头上的沟痕元凶是不是就是这种恐龙呢？

　　When you look at a lot of bones and Jurassic quarries⁶ of this age, you really see some amazing gouge⁷ and bite marks, and some of these gouge marks on the bones get, you know, close to an inch wide and almost as deep.

　　当你观察大量的骨头和这一时期的侏罗纪采石场时你会发现一些奇特的凿痕和咬痕，而且这些骨头上的一些凿痕，可达一英寸宽而且差不多同样深。

　　And these were all caused by Allosaurus who were no doubt eating these carcasses.

　　这些都是异特龙的杰作，毫无疑问，它在吃这些尸体。

　　Just really amazing to kind of imagine the power and the size of the animal that could leave these gouges⁸ on these large bones.

　　光想象这动物得有多大的力气和个头才能在这么大的骨头上留下这些痕迹就很神奇。

　　The bite marks on the bones found at the Colorado quarry⁹ were the same size and shape as teeth of Allosaurus.

　　在科罗拉多石场发现的骨头上的咬痕大小和形状跟异特龙的相符。

　　And the deep gashes¹⁰ in them were similar to the shape of claws of this dinosaur as well.

　　它们里面那些深深的沟痕也跟这种恐龙的爪子形状相似。

　　And since the skeleton of an Allosaurus was found in the quarry, there was little doubt that this dinosaur was responsible for those bone injuries.

　　既然石场里也发现了一具异特龙骨架，这个恐龙引起了那些骨伤已经没什么好怀疑的了。

　　It was a vital piece of the puzzle.

　　它是拼图的极其重要一块。

　　This was an Allosaurus killing¹¹ ground.

　　这里曾是异特龙的杀戮场。

　　But if so, why had at least one Ceratosaurus encroached in its territory.

　　但是要是如此，为什么起码有一只角鼻龙侵犯了它的领地呢？

　　The experts came up with a high hypothetical scenario¹² to explain what could have happened here.

　　专家们为了解释这里发生了什么构建了一个高度假想的场景。

　　We have a number of fossil sites that prove that Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus share the same environment.

　　我们有很多化石场能证明异特龙和角鼻龙在同一环境下生活。

　　The most famous is the Cleveland Quarry in Utah where the skeleton of a Ceratosaurus was found mixed among those of Allosaurus.

　　最有名的是犹他州克利夫兰石场，在那些异特龙的骨架里找到了一具角鼻龙的骨架。

　　So I have no doubt that these two predators¹³ came in contact with each other and competed for the same resources.

　　所以我确信这两种掠食者相互接触且为了同样的资源而竞争。

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