BreakingNews·190809 - 兒童大小的鸚鵡曾經(jīng)生活在新西蘭

Scientists have found fossils that once belonged to a giant parrot. They say the fossilized bones are from the biggest parrot that ever lived. It was probably as tall as a three-year-old child and weighed around eight kilograms. The researchers found the fossils in New Zealand. They have called the new parrot Hercules, after a strongman of ancient Greek mythology. The scientists studied the fossilized leg bones they found and said Hercules was around a metre tall. This means Hercules is twice the size of all other known parrots. The largest parrot scientists know of is the kakapo, a flightless bird that also lives in New Zealand. The kakapo is on the critically endangered species list.

科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)了曾經(jīng)屬于一只巨型鸚鵡的化石。他們說這些骨頭化石來自有史以來最大的鸚鵡。它可能和一個三歲的孩子一樣高，重約8公斤。研究人員在新西蘭發(fā)現(xiàn)了這些化石。他們把這只新鸚鵡命名為大力神，以古希臘神話中的一位鐵腕人物命名?？茖W(xué)家們研究了他們發(fā)現(xiàn)的腿骨化石，稱大力神大約有一米高。這意味著大力神是所有已知鸚鵡的兩倍大?？茖W(xué)家所知道的最大的鸚鵡是鸮鸚鵡，一種不會飛的鳥，也生活在新西蘭。鸮鸚鵡在極度瀕危物種名單上。

New Zealand is famous for its flightless birds. The kiwi is a symbol of the country. Scientists say these are vulnerable. This means they could become endangered if their environment stays the same. Another famous New Zealand bird is the 3.6-metre-tall moa. These flightless birds were the biggest birds that ever lived. They were overhunted to extinction early in the 15th century. Hercules lived about 19 million years ago. A researcher said it probably ate nuts, fruit and seeds, and "perhaps even other parrots". A researcher said: "New Zealand is well known for its giant birds. Until now, no one has ever found an extinct giant parrot, anywhere. There are many more unexpected species yet to be discovered."

新西蘭以其不會飛的鳥而聞名。幾維鳥是這個國家的象征?？茖W(xué)家們說這些都是脆弱的。這意味著，如果環(huán)境保持不變，它們可能會受到威脅。另一種著名的新西蘭鳥是3.6米高的恐鳥。這些不會飛的鳥是有史以來最大的鳥。在15世紀早期，它們因過度捕獵而滅絕。大力神生活在一千九百萬年前。一名研究人員說，它可能吃堅果、水果和種子，“甚至可能吃其他鸚鵡”。一位研究人員說:“新西蘭以其巨大的鳥類而聞名。到目前為止，還沒有人在任何地方發(fā)現(xiàn)過滅絕的巨型鸚鵡。還有更多意想不到的物種有待發(fā)現(xiàn)。”