最大恐龙化石亮相美国自然历史博物馆

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　　Four years ago, a rancher in the Patagonia region of Argentina came upon an old bone sticking out of his desert property near La Flecha.

　　四年前，在阿根廷的巴塔哥尼亚地区，一名农场主在其位于拉弗莱什附近的沙漠农场里偶然发现了一块古老的骨头。

　　With recent news of exciting dinosaur¹ finds in that country in mind, he scratched around some more. Then he went to a local museum to ask paleontologists to come look for more fossils.

　　在那之前不久，传出了在该国发现了恐龙化石的消息。想到那些令人兴奋的消息，他又在四周扒拉了一番。之后，他去了当地的一家博物馆，请那里的古生物学专家去寻找更多化石。

　　Many important dinosaur discoveries are made by nonexperts in just this casual way. The rancher’s find soon led to the exposure of skeletal remains² of six of the biggest titanosaurs. These herbivores lived about 100 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous Period, on all continents, including Antarctica. They seemed especially plentiful³ in southern lands.

　　很多和恐龙有关的重要发现，都是非专业人士这么随意地发现的。这名农场主的发现很快便让六只硕大无朋的泰坦巨龙的骸骨出现在了世人面前。这些食草动物生活在大约1亿年前的白垩纪末期。包括南极洲在内的各大洲都有它们的身影，但它们似乎在南半球的大陆上尤其多。

　　Now, the most imposing⁴ one of these dinosaurs⁵ from the far south of South America, assembled from 84 fossil pieces excavated⁶ from the rancher’s land, is the newest eyeful of ancient life on display at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. The hulking skeleton cast made its debut⁷ as a permanent attraction on Friday. Museum officials and scientists called it a must-see addition to the ranks of such popular icons⁸ as the institution’s great blue whale and the fierce Tyrannosaurus rex.

　　从那名农场主的土地上挖出的化石中的84块拼凑成了一整只恐龙。目前，这只来自南美洲最南端、颇能令人生畏的恐龙被陈列在曼哈顿的美国自然历史博物馆(American Museum of Natural History)里，是那里冲击人们眼眶的最新古代生物展品。上周五，这尊巨型骨架铸件作为永久性展品首次亮相。博物馆管理人员和科学家称，它是该馆备受欢迎的大蓝鲸和凶猛的霸王龙等标志性展品之外，又一必看展品。

　　“There’s nothing like finding a great new fossil, especially such a huge one,” said Michael J. Novacek, the museum’s senior vice⁹ president, provost of science and a curator of paleontology.

　　“什么都比不上新发现的大化石，特别是这么大的一个，”博物馆资深副馆长迈克尔·J·诺瓦采克(Michael J. Novacek)说。诺瓦采克还是科学事务负责人兼古生物展馆馆长。

　　The new research is expected to yield insights into the physiology¹⁰ of dinosaurs and how they were able to grow and function as such large creatures.

　　新研究预计会带来有关恐龙的生理机能，以及它们这么大的动物是怎么成长和活动的认识。

　　“Paleontology has become less geological and more biological in the last 20 years or so,” said Mark A. Norell, chairman of the paleontology division at the museum and a leading dinosaur researcher. He cited the field’s new “geochemical tools” for determining diet, growth patterns and locomotion¹¹. “All of us are simply biologists who work on fossils,” he added.

　　“过去大约20年里，古生物学和地质学的关系减少，和生物学的关系增强，”该博物馆古生物学部门负责人、知名恐龙研究人员马克·A·诺雷尔(Mark A. Norell)说。他用该领域新出现的“地球化学手段”确定恐龙的日常饮食、成长模式和运动力。“我们所有人都只是研究化石的生物学家，”他接着说。

　　The exhibit is not only a centerpiece for the museum’s fossil collections but also the start of a wide range of dinosaur programs for the year, including symposiums and another exhibition, “Dinosaurs Among Us,” opening March 21. It will highlight the signal developments in remarkable¹² research supporting a close relationship between dinosaurs and birds that are alive today.

　　这件展品不仅是该博物馆化石藏品中的明星，也是今年一系列广泛的恐龙项目的开端。相关项目包括多场专题研讨会和另一场将于3月21日开展的展览“我们当中的恐龙”(Dinosaurs Among Us)。它将突出展示一些非凡研究中的重大进展，表明恐龙和现今鸟类之间的密切关系。

　　The Patagonian skeleton was not an easy fit in its New York home. At 122 feet in length, it was a bit too long for the gallery. Part of its 39-foot-long neck extends through an opening in a wall toward the elevator banks, as if to welcome visitors to the fossil floors.

　　在位于纽约的家里，巴塔哥尼亚恐龙骨架在安放的时候并不容易。122英尺（约合37米）的长度相对展厅来说太长了。通过墙上开的一个洞，39英尺的脖子部分伸向了电梯间，像是在欢迎参观者来到化石展区。

　　This titanosaur was a young adult, gender¹³ undetermined. Its appetite for all kinds of vegetation must have been prodigious¹⁴. Based on bone sizes, researchers estimated that this individual weighed 70 tons — as much as 10 African elephants, the heaviest land animals today. Think of its possible heft if it were fully¹⁵ grown. Think of it satisfying its huge appetite by stretching its long neck to graze far and wide. With only a few shifts in position, it might have mowed¹⁶ the equivalent of all the grass in Yankee Stadium in a morning.

　　这只泰坦巨龙是一只年轻的成年恐龙，性别尚未确定。它对各种蔬菜的胃口肯定颇为惊人。根据骨头的大小，研究人员估计这只恐龙重70吨，相当于10头非洲象的重量。非洲象是现今最重的陆地动物。想想它完全长大了后可能达到的重量。再想想它把长长的脖子舒展开，四处吃草，满足自己食欲的场景。只需变换几次姿势，它一早上便可能吃下相当于洋基体育场(Yankee Stadium)整个场地面积的土地上所有的草。

　　Weight was also a factor in preparing the skeleton cast for display, a task undertaken by Research Casting International in Canada. The actual mineralized fossils were too heavy to mount. Instead, all “bones” are made from lightweight fiberglass based on digital copies of the original fossils.

　　重量也是布置这尊骨架铸件时要考虑的一个因素。布展由加拿大研究铸件国际(Research Casting International)完成。因为已经矿物化，实际的化石太重，架不上去。因此，博物馆里的所有“化石”都是在化石原件的数字复制品的基础上，用轻质玻璃纤维制成的。

　　Much of the grueling excavation¹⁷ leading to the discovery was done by teams led by José Luis Carballido and Diego Pol, paleontologists at Paleontological Museum Egidio Feruglio in Argentina. They began excavating¹⁸ for months at a time after the rancher’s visit. Sometimes it took a week of digging to isolate¹⁹ a single femur or a forelimb. Thighs²⁰ and upper arms are critical to judging the size and weight of a dinosaur.

　　在这次发现中，大量令人筋疲力尽的发掘工作都是由阿根廷埃吉迪奥·费鲁利奥古生物学博物馆(Paleontological Museum Egidio Feruglio)的古生物学家若泽·路易斯·卡瓦利多(José Luis Carballido)和迭戈·布勒(Diego Pol)带领的团队完成的。在那名农场主去过后不久，他们就开始了挖掘。挖掘工作持续了数月。有时候，需要挖一周时间，才能从泥土中挖出一块股骨或一段前肢骨骼。大腿和上臂对判断恐龙的身形大小和重量至关重要。

　　Dr. Pol said the excavations²¹ revealed that at least six of these giant individuals, all young adults, had died at the site of what had been a flood plain near a river. Their deaths had happened at three distinct times, anywhere from a few years to centuries apart. Like many herding²² animals, they may have become isolated²³ from the group and died of stress and hunger near their watering hole.

　　布勒博士表示，他们发掘出土了至少六只身形庞大的恐龙，都是年轻的成年恐龙。它们死亡时所在的地方，原本是一片临河的冲积平原。它们是分三批死亡的，每次相隔几年到几个世纪。和很多群居动物一样，它们可能和群体隔绝开了，后在饮水地附近死于压力和饥饿。

　　“That’s when we realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime discovery,” Dr. Pol said. Dinosaurs are the big game to fossil hunters, and these were some of the biggest plant-eating dinosaurs ever found.

　　“这时，我们意识到这是一个千年难遇的发现，”布勒博士说。对寻找化石的人来说，恐龙是终极猎物。而这些恐龙又是迄今为止发现的最大的食草恐龙。

　　The size and distinctive²⁴ shape of an eight-foot femur of one specimen²⁵ astonished scientists. This appeared to be a previously²⁶ unknown titanosaur species, yet unnamed. Dr. Pol said a report that is being prepared may soon propose a formal species name.

　　其中一只恐龙的股骨长达八英尺。其大小和独特形状令科学家感到震惊。这似乎是一种以前不为人知的泰坦巨龙种类，因而现在尚未命名。布勒博士称，正在准备一份报告，报告可能很快便会提出正式的物种名称。

　　In a bravura²⁷ moment, Dr. Pol had his picture taken stretched out on the ground beside the femur, about the size of a living room couch. The photograph caught the attention of paleontologists at the natural history museum in New York, where Dr. Pol had done his Ph.D. research. “Maybe we can get that thing,” one said. “That would look great for a renovated²⁸ dinosaur gallery” another said.

　　布勒博士还躺在那块大小和客厅长沙发大致相当的股骨旁边的地上拍了张照，以示炫耀。在纽约的自然历史博物馆，这张照片引起了古生物学者的注意。布勒博士正是在该博物馆完成自己的博士研究的。“或许我们能够拿到那个东西，”一人说。“它应该和我们翻修过的恐龙展厅很搭，”另一人说。

　　Early last year, Dr. Novacek signed the deal with the Argentine museum to build the full-size skeleton cast for permanent display in New York.

　　去年年初，诺瓦采克博士同阿根廷那家博物馆签订了协议。协议的内容是制作一件和原物一样大小的骨架铸件，用于在纽约进行永久性展出。

　　On a visit a few days before the titanosaur’s unveiling, workers were applying finishing touches as Dr. Norell paused at the entrance, under the watchful²⁹ eye and toothy jaw³⁰ of the star attraction.

　　在离这只泰坦巨龙揭幕还剩几天时间时，笔者去了一趟博物馆。工人们正在进行最后的调制，诺雷尔博士停在入口处，那里正好位于这件明星展品警觉的眼睛和满是牙齿的下颌下方。

　　“I guarantee you are going to remember this first impression,” Dr. Norell said. “Seeing something like this, you don’t quite have anything to compare its size and aspect with.”

　　“我保证你会记住它给你的第一印象，”诺雷尔博士说。“看到像这样的东西时，人们没有太多的东西可以用来和它的大小及外表相比拟。”

　　He was right. The dinosaur was inexpressibly strange and big. Once again, we are reminded of what we know: Dinosaurs mostly were big, an engaging mystery and a challenge.

　　他说的没错。这只恐龙是个视觉奇观，庞大到无法形容。它再次让我们想起了所知道的情况：恐龙大多身形庞大，既是诱人的谜团，也是挑战。

　　The titanosaur’s arrival at the museum may inspire new understanding of these incredible creatures. It is exciting enough to walk a corridor to the fossil galleries in anticipation³¹ of meeting it, and spending some time with old friends of fond memory.

　　到达纽约的博物馆后，这只泰坦巨龙可能会激起对这些神奇动物新的了解。单是走在那条通向化石展厅的走廊里，知道会看到它，并会和有过美好回忆的”老友“共同度过一段时间就足够激动人心了。

　　Dr. Novacek is not bothered by some skepticism that the specimens³² are from the biggest dinosaur discovered so far, and that these may soon be eclipsed in size by new excavations.

　　有人怀疑这些恐龙不是迄今发现的最大恐龙，并称它们的大小可能很快便会被新发现的恐龙超过。但这并未给诺瓦采克带来困扰。

　　“Every time we find the biggest dinosaur,” he said, “we soon find a bigger one in the next dig.”

　　“每次发现最大的恐龙之后，”他说，“我们很快就会在下一次发掘中发现更大的。”

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