侏罗纪搏击俱乐部 第55期:在它们身边要小心为妙

 Camarasaurus also owed its success to a set of long, spoon-shaped teeth that, paleontologists came to realize, could defoliate entire trees.

圆顶龙成功的另一个原因是（牙齿露出5厘米，含牙根8厘米）它们长长的匙状牙齿古生物学家已经意识到这些牙能扯掉整棵树的叶子。

The teeth in Camarasaurus actually interlock.

圆顶龙的牙齿实际上是相互扣住的。

They kind of tongue and groove¹ almost one into each other.

一颗凸起进入凹下的那颗这样上下相扣。

They would have almost functioned like a serrated beak² or a single large cutting surface.

它们的功能就像是锯齿状的鸟喙或是单侧大型切割型面。

So they're probably stripping vegetation quite effectively.

所以它们吃光植物的效率可能很高。

The remains³ of three Camarasaurus found together in Wyoming in 1997 suggested that these dinosaurs⁴ traveled in small herds⁵.

1997年在怀俄明州一起发现的三具圆顶龙骨骸证明了这些恐龙小群活动。

But as the lakebed excavation⁶ continued, the mystery deepened.

不过随着对湖床挖掘的进行谜团愈加扑朔迷离。

Something intriguing⁷ became evident.

很明显有些事情很有意思。

Very few Camarasaurus bones were found.

这里没找到多少圆顶龙的骨头。

Why?

为什么呢？

The answer would be a vital clue.

其答案会是一条重要线索。

Really big animals, like Camarasaurus, would have been pretty reluctant to walk out to the lakebed.

像圆顶龙这样庞大的动物一般不愿意走到湖床上面。

Their sheer mass and weight makes getting stuck a real possibility,

其体型重量很容易让它们受困，

so unless it's an incredible drought and that was the only place to get water, they're probably going to keep their distance.

所以除非是干旱异常而且这里是唯一的饮水之地，它们对这种地方都会敬而远之。

That's why I think that so few remains of Camarasaurus were found at the Cleveland Lloyd site.

我觉得这就是为什么在克利夫兰劳埃德石场发现的圆顶龙的骨架这么少。

As plant eaters, they were not natural aggressors.

它们是植食动物天生攻击性不强。

When they encountered a predator⁸, Camarasaurus most likely relied on their sheer mass to act as a deterrent⁹.

当它们遇到掠食者，圆顶龙最可能就是把庞大身躯当成威慑物。

Any animal that weighs 15 to 20 tons is just going to be an absolute powerhouse to deal with.

重量达十五到二十吨的动物绝对力大无比，会很难对付。

Just stepping on potential predators¹⁰ would probably do them in.

仅仅踩上一脚就能干掉掠食者。

You'd want to be very careful around them.

在它们身边可要小心为妙。

A large African elephant often weighs in 5 to 6 ton range.

一头巨大的非洲象常常是五到六吨重。

These animals get up to 3,4 times that size easily.

这些动物很容易就能达到大象的三到四倍。

So we're already talking much stronger than an elephant.

所以它们要比大象有力得多。

1 groove   

n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯

参考例句：

• They're happy to stay in the same old groove.他们乐于墨守成规。
• The cupboard door slides open along the groove.食橱门沿槽移开。

2 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

6 excavation   

n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地

参考例句：

• The bad weather has hung up the work of excavation.天气不好耽误了挖掘工作。
• The excavation exposed some ancient ruins.这次挖掘暴露出一些古遗迹。

7 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

9 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

10 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》