闻所未闻：14种凶残诡异的史前怪物(组图)

http://www.sina.com.cn   2010年02月05日 11:23   沪江英语  不会飞行的恐鸟生活在公元1500年左右

　　The Moa were flightless birds that resided in New Zealand as recentlyas 1500 AD. Hunted to extinction by Maori tribesmen,this bird's dominant physical presence wasn't enough to fight off sharpened spears.At 12 feet in height and over 500 pounds in mass ,the Moa make the modern Ostritch seem diminutive。

　　不会飞行的恐鸟生活在公元1500年左右。他高度可达3米，重250公斤，食草性动物。恐鸟被认为不太可能存活到今日，因为牠们是该区域体型相当大的鸟类，而且该区也常被猎人或登山客拜访。鸡大小的鸟类或许可以成功避开人类，不过像恐鸟那麽大的鸟类很难做到这点。现在仍然没有可信的恐鸟足迹的报告。

世界上最凶猛的生物

　　Pliosaurs haunted the world's oceans,attacking with intense power andspeed. With short necks and huge jaws,they were killing machines. Thelargest Pliosaur skeleton was an incredible 52 feet long,with its headmaking up almost 8 feet of its total length。

　　世界上最凶猛的生物，还不是什么XXX陆地恐龙，而是这个名为Pliosaur的巨大海洋生物。他生活在侏罗纪和白垩纪时代，以捕食鱼龙和蛇颈龙为生。身长接近16米，重12吨。被研究人员戏称为海底食品仓库。蛇颈龙在它面前就像小猫一样。

　　从外貌看上去Pliosaur 其实并没有我们想象中的那样古怪，没哟犄角、没有储蓄、不像科幻电影中的任何海怪。实际上Pliosaur长得就想是一条巨大巨大超级大鳄鱼。游泳跟鳄鱼一样强壮的颚和矩形牙齿，任何动物在它面前都只能是早餐了。

巨猿可能就是金刚的原型

　　A possible inspiration for King Kong,Gigantopithecus' appearanceresembled modern day apes,only it was much,much larger. The heftiestape in history,they could top out at nearly 10 feet and weigh over1,000 pounds. Gigantophithecus was a distant relative of the modernOrangutan,so most artistic depictions take this into account。

　　巨猿可能就是金刚的原型。步氏巨猿估计站立高3米及重545公斤，比现存大猩猩及近亲的猩猩分别重2-3倍及5倍——近乎3米的高度和1000磅的体重！不过据称它们是高度的两性异形，成年雌性的重量差不多只有雄性的一半。

　　巨猿可能是四足行走及草食性的，主要吃竹及一些季节性的生果。但是最近有指它们是杂食性的。虽然仍未知巨猿灭绝的原因，但学者一般相信是因气候转变及未能成功争夺资源所致。
锯齿鲨(暂译)和近代的鲨鱼长相类似

　　Whorl Sharks were similar to their modern cousins despite jetting along almost 300 million years ago. While modern sharks have rows of serrated teeth ready to replace any that fall out,the whorl shark has aninteresting lower jaw that looked like a circular saw,where newer teeth would push older teeth further along the line. There's some debateabout the placement of the tooth structure,but regardless of its location in the mouth or deeper in the throat,it had a startlingly unique appearance。

　　锯齿鲨(暂译)和近代的鲨鱼长相类似，只不过他们生活在3亿年前的二叠纪，到后来发生了二叠纪-三叠纪灭绝事件，90%至95%的海洋生物灭绝，其详细原因目前尚不明确，但有可能肇因于一次剧烈的小行星撞击。锯齿鲨它最大的特点就是一个带有“圆形电锯”。根据古生物学家推测这种鲨鱼的牙齿会不断的长出，同时新的牙齿会把之前的牙齿推到前端。

　　其实我不太相信这种动物曾经真的存在于这个世界上。因为似乎咬合度真的很成问题呀，除非那个前轮真的能转一起来。不然，岂不是会割伤自己！

冠恐鸟又名加斯顿鸟或戈氏鸟，是一属已灭绝及不懂飞行的大型鸟类

　　Gastornis,formerly known as Diatryma,is another horrifically largeflightless bird. The most terrifying aspect of this animal is the factthat its beak implies it was carnivorous。

　　冠恐鸟又名加斯顿鸟或戈氏鸟，是一属已灭绝及不懂飞行的大型鸟类，生存于古新世晚期至始新世。冠恐鸟下的G.parisiensis平均身长有1.75米，而G.edwardsi则有2米高。冠恐鸟的喙特别大及呈钩状，腿大而强壮，脚掌大且有爪，估计它是肉食性的。冠恐鸟生存的环境有大量的密林，气候潮湿至半乾旱。北美洲及欧洲当时很接近，尤其格陵兰是被林地及草原覆盖，这两个洲之间只有约几百公里阔的海峡阻隔冠恐鸟的祖先。当西部内陆海道退却后，北美洲就成为一个连接的大陆，欧洲因为阿尔卑斯造山幕及古新世-始新世极热事件的高海平面而成为群岛，地理上有点像今天的印尼。

邓氏鱼(Dunkleosteusterrelli)

　　Unlike sharks,that have survived for over 400 millionyears,Dunkleosteus had a short run of 50 million years. They would getup to 30 feet in length and weigh over 4 tons. They were the last oftheir kind,as we've been unable to find any closely related descendants。

　　邓氏鱼(Dunkleosteusterrelli)，一种活于泥盆纪时代(距今约3.6亿至4.15亿年前)的古生物，长约8至10米，重量可达4吨，邓氏鱼的咬力非常强大，因此被认为是咬力最大的动物，并成为时代最大的海洋猎食者，其主要食粮是有硬壳保护的鱼类及无脊椎动物。邓氏鱼一口咬穿硬壳保护的鱼类或无脊椎动物，进食完后它会将不能消化的硬壳吐出。

泰坦巨蟒是一个生活在古新世(约 6000 至 5800 万年前)的蛇属

　　Little needs to be said about Titanoboa beyond this: 50 feet long andover 2,500 pounds. Like a titanic exaggeration of the modern boa,bethankful this snake went extinct nearly 58 million years ago。

　　泰坦巨蟒是一个生活在古新世(约 6000 至 5800 万年前)的蛇属。已知的唯一种塞雷洪泰坦巨蟒(T.cerrejonensis)也是已知最大的蛇。把它石化的脊椎骨与现代蛇比较，研究人员估计其全长15米以上，体重超过 1100公斤，身体最粗处围距达1米。它可能是以鳄鱼为食的。由于蛇是冷血动物，这项发现也暗示了，当时的其生活的热带地区比研究人员原先估计的更温暖，平均气温为 32℃°(90°F)。只有这样的气候才能让蛇长得这麽大。而目前当地的年平均气温为 28℃。
史前蜈蚣(暂译)是史前的多足纲动物，即现今蜈蚣及千足虫的远古亲属

　　Arthropleura armata was the worst nightmare of any homeowner: an 8 anda half foot long bug. Similar in appearance to the modern centipede,itwas one of the first invertebrates on land,and as such,most likely hadlittle to no predators. Thankfully,they lived well over 300 millionyears ago,and won't show up in your hallway any time soon。

　　史前蜈蚣(暂译)是史前的多足纲动物，即现今蜈蚣及千足虫的远古亲属。它们长0.3-2.6米，绝对是你的噩梦。它生存于3亿4000万至2亿8000万年前的石炭纪晚期，分布在北美洲及苏格兰。它们已知陆地上最大型的无脊椎动物，相信只有少数的天敌。

这应该是田鼠的祖宗

　　Even the smallest creatures deserve mention,and the horned gopher (Ceratogaulus Rhinoceros) is no exception. As the smallest mammal toever have horns,they should have at least a little recognition. It was originally thought the horns were meant for digging,but the consensusnow seems to be that they were used for defense。

　　这应该是田鼠的祖宗，头部的角可能是挖掘工具，也可能是一种防御武器。体型较小。

史前巨蝎(暂译)体长2.5米，生活在距今3.9亿年前的

　　Jaekelopterus Rhenaniae is similar to Arthropleuria,only it lived inthe ocean. At over 8 feet in length,this "sea scropion" (only inappearance) makes the largest lobsters seem like toys. It crawled alongthe ocean floors nearly 390 million years ago。

　　史前巨蝎(暂译)体长2.5米，生活在距今3.9亿年前的。是一种水陆两栖的动物，引人注目的大钳子是他的主要作战工具。

马门溪龙为蜥臀目蜥脚下目恐龙的一属，属于马门溪龙科

　　Mamenchisaurus looks much like another famous dinosuar, Apatosaurus(formerly known as Brontosaurus)， and is similar except for one odddifference: neck length. Their necks were up to 46 feet in length andmade up 50% of their full body length. They lived nearly 150 millionyears ago and were entirely herbivorous。

　　马门溪龙为蜥臀目蜥脚下目恐龙的一属，属于马门溪龙科。牠们生活在侏罗纪晚期提通阶，约1亿5000万年前到1亿4000万年前，广泛分布在东亚地区。马门溪龙的体长可达22到26公尺，而脖子占一半长度，马门溪龙是曾经生活在地球上的脖子最长的动物。
袋鼠大家都喜欢，那你喜欢500磅的袋鼠吗

　　What’s more fun than a kangaroo? A 10 foot tall, 500 pound kangaroo .Procoptodon Goliah was a marsupial just like its modern cousins, andhad similar features, but with a shorter face and slightly differentfeet. They were alive as recently as 18,000 years ago and their demiseis attributed to human activity。

　　袋鼠大家都喜欢，那你喜欢500磅的袋鼠吗？巨型短面袋鼠(Procoptodon)是一属生活在更新世澳洲的袋鼠。P.goliah是体型最大的袋鼠，站立时约有3米高，重232公斤。巨型短面袋鼠的面扁平，眼睛向前。每一隻脚上只有一隻脚趾，就像马蹄一样。牠在森林及平原行动快捷，主要吃草及树叶。牠的前肢肉垫亦很特别，有两个特长的手指，指上有大爪。牠们有可能用爪来抓树枝及採叶子来吃。巨型短面袋鼠约于5万年前灭绝，但有一些资料指牠们在1万8000年前仍然生存。牠们的灭绝成因肯定与人类活动有关，但直接成因则不清楚。巨型短面袋鼠是侧系群，从短鼻粗尾袋鼠属演化而来。

长颈驼，又名滑距兽

　　Macrauchenia lived around 20,000 years ago and were first discovered byCharles Darwin on his famous voyage on the Beagle. These creatures seemlike a grab bag of different animals, with a small trunk and a bodyreminiscent of a camel. Too large to be fast enough, and too small tofrighten off potential predators, they never had much of a chance。

　　长颈驼，又名滑距兽，是一种长颈的南美洲的有蹄动物，属于滑距骨目。牠有长的四肢，每肢上有三趾。最古老的化石可追溯至约7百万年前，而在约1万年前的更新世晚期便失去了化石纪录。长颈驼是后弓兽科中最着名的成员，只有在南美洲(主要是阿根廷)有发现其化石。原模标本是由查尔斯·达尔文(CharlesDarwin)在小猎犬号之旅中发现。长颈驼的外观就像没有驼峰及有一个短象鼻的骆驼，但牠们与骆驼或长鼻目没有亲密的关系。

Chalicotherium源于古希腊语，小石兽之意

　　Chalicotherium was a giant beast that walked on its back feet and knuckles, and used its long arms to pull down high branches forfeeding. They were most likely slow and spent a majority of their time consuming leaves. Their only protection was their size and heavy clawson their forelegs, both of which would deter modern predators, but were unexceptional at the time。

　　Chalicotherium源于古希腊语，小石兽之意。这种生长在中新世到更新世，身高近2米的巨大的动物用脚和手指行走，长长的臂膀可以把树枝扯下食用。至于手上的长趾是不是用于抵御外敌暂时没有证据证实。

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