像人那么大的企鵝，真的存在過(guò)

體型和人類相似的巨型企鵝曾在新西蘭出現(xiàn)

Scientists in New Zealand said Wednesday they’ve found fossilized bones from an extinct monster penguin that was about the size of an adult human and swam the oceans some 60 million years ago.

新西蘭科學(xué)家星期三說(shuō)，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了一只滅絕的怪物企鵝的骨骼化石，這只企鵝的大小和成人差不多，大約6000萬(wàn)年前曾在海洋中游泳。

They said the previously undiscovered species is believed to have stood about 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighed up to 176 pounds. It’s believed to have been one of several species of giant penguins that thrived soon after dinosaurs died out.

科學(xué)家稱，以前從未發(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)物種，據(jù)了解該物種大約有5英尺2英寸高，重達(dá)176磅。應(yīng)該是恐龍滅絕后不久，迅速繁衍生息的幾種巨型企鵝之一。

The findings were published this week in “Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.”

這一發(fā)現(xiàn)發(fā)表在本周的《阿爾赫林加：澳大利亞古生物學(xué)雜志》上。

Paul Scofield, a co-author of the paper and senior curator at the Canterbury Museum, said the discovery is significant because the species is similar to another giant penguin found in Antarctica in 2000 and helps show a connection between the two regions during the Paleocene Epoch.

這篇論文的合著者、坎特伯雷博物館的高級(jí)館長(zhǎng)保羅·斯科菲爾德說(shuō)，這一發(fā)現(xiàn)意義重大，因?yàn)檫@一物種與2000年在南極洲發(fā)現(xiàn)的另一只巨型企鵝相似，有助于揭示古新世時(shí)期這兩個(gè)地區(qū)之間的聯(lián)系。

He said that following the extinction of dinosaurs, marine reptiles and gigantic fish, it seemed there was an evolutionary opportunity for penguins to thrive and grow in size.

隨著恐龍、海洋爬行動(dòng)物和巨型魚類的滅絕，企鵝似乎有了一個(gè)茁壯成長(zhǎng)的進(jìn)化機(jī)會(huì)。

“The oceans were ripe for the picking with the lack of mega predators,” Scofield said. “It looks like what was going on was that penguins were just starting to exploit that niche.”

斯科菲爾德說(shuō)：“由于沒(méi)有大型食肉動(dòng)物，海洋已經(jīng)成熟到可以覓食了。”“看起來(lái)企鵝們開(kāi)始利用這個(gè)生態(tài)。”

But he said the giant penguins themselves became extinct within 30 million years as large marine mammals began ruling the waters.

但是，由于大型海洋哺乳動(dòng)物開(kāi)始統(tǒng)治這片水域，巨型企鵝在3000萬(wàn)年內(nèi)就滅絕了。

The monster penguins, named Crossvallia waiparensis, would have been about twice the weight and 30 centimeters (1 foot) taller than the largest type of penguins alive today, emperor penguins.

這只名叫Crossvallia Waiparensis的巨型企鵝，比現(xiàn)存最大的企鵝帝企鵝高出約兩倍，高30厘米(1英尺)。

Scofield said the leg bones indicated the monster penguin’s feet may have played a bigger role in swimming than is the case with penguins today.

斯科菲爾德說(shuō)，這些腿骨表明，這種巨型企鵝的腳可能在游泳中發(fā)揮了比現(xiàn)在企鵝更大的作用。

New Zealand is believed to have been the site of many gigantic birds that later became extinct, including the world’s largest parrot, a giant eagle and an emu-like bird called the moa. Scientists say the lack of predators allowed such birds to thrive.

新西蘭是許多后來(lái)滅絕的巨型鳥類的棲息地，包括世界上最大的鸚鵡、一只巨鷹和一種名為MOA的類鴯鹋鳥。科學(xué)家稱，由于缺少捕食者，這種鳥得以繁衍生息。

The monster penguin’s bones, from its legs and feet, were found by amateur enthusiast Leigh Love about 18 months ago in the Waipara River bed near the South Island city of Christchurch.

大約18個(gè)月前，業(yè)余愛(ài)好者利·洛夫在南島城市克賴斯特徹奇附近的懷帕拉河床上，發(fā)現(xiàn)了這只企鵝的腿和腳上的骨骼。

Love said he spotted the fragments in an eroding bank.

洛夫說(shuō)，他在一個(gè)被侵蝕的河岸上發(fā)現(xiàn)了這些碎片。

“It wasn’t until I got the fossils home and did a little preparation that I realized I had something completely different than what had been found before,” he said.

“直到我把化石帶回家，做了一點(diǎn)準(zhǔn)備，我才意識(shí)到，我發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些與之前發(fā)現(xiàn)的完全不同的東西，”他說(shuō)。

Love said his passion for collecting fossils began about 14 years ago after chronic fatigue syndrome prevented him from working for several years.

洛夫說(shuō)，他對(duì)收集化石的熱情始于14年前，因?yàn)槁云诰C合癥，使他好幾年都無(wú)法工作。

“It inspires me to go out and look for more,” he said.

他說(shuō)：“收集化石激勵(lì)我走出去，尋找更多的東西。”

Massey University Professor John Cockrem, a penguin expert who wasn’t involved in the research, said the discovery was significant in adding to knowledge about giant penguins and cementing New Zealand’s place as the penguin center of the world.

梅西大學(xué)(Massey University)教授、企鵝專家約翰·科克倫(John Cockrem)沒(méi)有參與這項(xiàng)研究。他說(shuō)，這一發(fā)現(xiàn)對(duì)增加有關(guān)巨型企鵝的知識(shí)、鞏固新西蘭作為企鵝世界中心的地位具有重要意義。

Ewan Fordyce, a paleontology professor from the University of Otago who also wasn’t involved in the research, said the penguin was among the oldest ever found. He said one challenge was trying to determine the overall size of the birds from skeleton fragments, but added that it was a challenge everybody in the field faced.

奧塔戈大學(xué)古生物學(xué)教授伊萬(wàn)·福代斯(EwanFordyce)也沒(méi)有參與這項(xiàng)研究，他說(shuō)這只企鵝是有史以來(lái)發(fā)現(xiàn)的最古老的企鵝之一。他說(shuō)，試圖從骨骼碎片中確定鳥類的整體大小是個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)，但是，這是該領(lǐng)域每個(gè)人都面臨的挑戰(zhàn)。

The monster penguin’s bones were analyzed by Scofield and Vanesa De Pietri, another Canterbury Museum curator, along with German paleontologist Gerald Mayr. The scientists say they have discovered other new penguin species at the remarkable site, which they haven’t yet finished researching.

坎特伯雷博物館的另一位館長(zhǎng)，斯科菲爾德和瓦內(nèi)德·皮特里以及德國(guó)古生物學(xué)家杰拉德·邁爾，對(duì)這只企鵝的骨骼進(jìn)行了分析?？茖W(xué)家們表示，他們已經(jīng)在這個(gè)引人注目的地點(diǎn)發(fā)現(xiàn)了其他新的企鵝物種，但他們還沒(méi)有完成研究。