侏羅紀(jì)搏擊俱樂(lè)部 第125期:躺下等待獵物

Like all raptors, Utahraptor was one of the top predators of its time.

和所有迅猛龍一樣，猶他盜龍是當(dāng)時(shí)的頂級(jí)掠食者之一。

But unlike its cousins, this raptor was not built for speed.

不過(guò)跟它的親戚們不同，這種迅猛龍的構(gòu)造不是為了速度。

His short but robust legs made him a heavyweight.

它短而粗壯的腿使它成為重量級(jí)選手。

Because of Utahraptors's large size and proportion of the leg bones, it's pretty safe to assume that it was slower than what we think of as Velociraptor and Deinonychus.

因?yàn)楠q他盜龍較大的體型以及腿骨所占的比例，可以比較確定地推測(cè)它的速度比伶盜龍和恐爪龍要慢一些。

Utahraptor may have been more of an ambush predator.

猶他盜龍可能更像是伏擊性掠食者。

In other words, we might say that a Velociraptor was a cheetah running things down, that Utahraptor may have been the equivalent of a lion in the sense that it may have laid and waited for prey.

換一句話說(shuō)的話，我們可能會(huì)說(shuō)伶盜龍像獵豹一樣奔襲獵物，而猶他盜龍可能更像獅子同樣會(huì)躺下等待獵物。

Utahraptor would normally have preyed on less well armored herbivores, ones less likely to cause injury, but the fact that the skeleton of Gastonia was found nearby proves that they did share the same terrain.

猶他盜龍通常會(huì)攻擊沒(méi)那么多護(hù)甲的植食動(dòng)物，那些不那么容易帶來(lái)傷害的，但是在它附近發(fā)現(xiàn)的加斯頓龍骨架證明它們分享同一地域。

The area where they found the skeleton of Utahraptor and Gastonia looks a lot different today than it did when they were alive.

人們發(fā)現(xiàn)猶他盜龍和加斯頓龍骨架的地區(qū)如今和它們當(dāng)年生活的時(shí)候已經(jīng)大不相同。

Although there were large conifer trees, this particular part of the state was a bit more open and dry.

雖然那時(shí)有很多巨大的針葉樹(shù)，該州的這個(gè)特別部分更開(kāi)闊而且干燥一些。

It sort of resembled a savanna but without grass.

這就像是一個(gè)沒(méi)有草的大草原。

Utahraptor hunted this area because it allowed him to see prey over greater distances.

猶他盜龍?jiān)谶@里狩獵是因?yàn)樗茉谶h(yuǎn)處就看到獵物。

Gastonia was attracted to the area because of the amount of low growing vegetation, something you don't find in the big dense forest.

加斯頓龍被吸引來(lái)的原因則是這里有很多生長(zhǎng)得很低的植物，這在又大又密的森林里可找不到。

Scientists believe that for most of the year, life flourished on the ancient Savanna.

科學(xué)家們相信在一年中的大部分時(shí)間里，這片古老的草原里欣欣向榮。

But during the dry season, the environment could be harsh.

但是在旱季里，環(huán)境可能會(huì)變得很?chē)?yán)酷。

We have a number of fossil soils preserved that suggest there were periods of extreme aridity, perhaps extensive drought.

我們有一些保存下來(lái)的土壤化石，表明這里有些時(shí)候極度干燥，可能徹底干旱。

In fact, some of these extensive drought intervals might be responsible for some of the fossil sites that we found.

其實(shí)，這些徹底干旱時(shí)期可能就是我們發(fā)現(xiàn)的一些化石場(chǎng)的成因。

Drought conditions meant that herbivores would have less to eat.

干旱條件意味著植食動(dòng)物食物變少。

The weaker ones would either migrate or die.

變?nèi)醯膭?dòng)物要么遷徙要么死亡。

This probably forced the predators to attack whatever they could find, no matter how well defended.

這很可能迫使掠食者攻擊任何找得到的獵物，不管它們防護(hù)得有多好。