VOA慢速英語(yǔ)：科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)一種羽毛富有光澤且顏色多變的的恐龍

Scientists Discover a Dinosaur with Shiny, Color-Changing Feathers

科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)一種羽毛富有光澤且顏色多變的的恐龍

Scientists recently announced the discovery of a small, bird-like dinosaur from China which had unusual, colorful feathers.

科學(xué)家們最近宣布發(fā)現(xiàn)一種來(lái)自中國(guó)的類似于鳥的小恐龍，這種恐龍具有異常色彩鮮艷的羽毛。

The scientists named the dinosaur Caihong, the Mandarin word for rainbow. They discovered the nearly complete and almost entirely undamaged fossil in Hebei Province.

科學(xué)家們把這種恐龍命名為彩虹。他們?cè)诤颖笔“l(fā)現(xiàn)了接近完整、幾乎完全未損壞的化石。

Microscopic structures in the fossil suggest that the creature had wide, shiny feathers. The feathers mostly covered the dinosaur's head and upper body. The colors of those feather would have appeared to change depending on how the light hit them.

化石的微觀結(jié)構(gòu)表明這種生物具有寬大而有光澤的羽毛。這些羽毛主要覆蓋了該恐龍的頭部和上身，它的顏色會(huì)根據(jù)照射到它的光線發(fā)生變化。

The colorful dinosaur lived 161 million years ago during the Jurassic Period of earth's history.

這種色彩鮮艷的恐龍生活在1.61億年前的地球侏羅紀(jì)時(shí)期。

Chad Eliason is an evolutionary biologist with the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. He helped write the study announcing the discovery in the scientific publication Nature Communications. Eliason told the Reuters news service that the discovery "suggests a more colorful Jurassic World than we previously imagined."

查德·伊萊亞森(Chad Eliason)是伊利諾伊州芝加哥菲爾德博物館的一名進(jìn)化生物學(xué)家。他幫助撰寫了這篇發(fā)表在《自然通訊》科學(xué)雜志上的研究論文。伊萊亞森對(duì)路透社表示，這一發(fā)現(xiàn)“表明侏羅紀(jì)時(shí)代的色彩比我們想象的要更加豐富。”

The scientists used powerful microscopes to identify the remains of the cell structures responsible for the apparent color of the feathers. The shape of those structures appears to have influenced what color the feathers would have. Round-shaped structures in the Caihong fossil show that it had feathers similar to that of a modern day hummingbird.

科學(xué)家們利用高倍顯微鏡來(lái)觀察造成羽毛表面顏色的細(xì)胞結(jié)構(gòu)的殘留物。這些結(jié)構(gòu)的形狀似乎影響到了羽毛的顏色。彩虹恐龍化石中的圓形結(jié)構(gòu)表明它具有和現(xiàn)代蜂鳥類似的羽毛。

Much of Caihong's body had dark feathers. The shiny, color-changing feathers covered its head and neck. The dinosaur had many bird-like qualities. But researchers doubt that it could actually fly.

彩虹恐龍身體大部分都有黑色羽毛。這種富有光澤、顏色可以變化的羽毛覆蓋了它的頭部和頸部。這種恐龍具有多種跟鳥類一樣的特質(zhì)，但是研究人員懷疑它是否真正會(huì)飛。

Its feathers could have served the purpose of gaining the attention of sexual partners while also providing protection from heat and cold.

它的羽毛可能是為了吸引異性關(guān)注，同時(shí)可以保暖隔熱。

Caihong was two-legged and had a long, narrow head with sharp teeth. It had boney crests above its eyes, and it hunted other, smaller animals for food.

彩虹恐龍有兩只腳，頭部細(xì)長(zhǎng)并且具有鋒利的牙齒。它的眼睛上方有多骨的鳥冠，靠捕捉其它小型動(dòng)物為生。

Scientists say many dinosaurs had feathers. Birds evolved from small feathered dinosaurs near the end of the Jurassic Period.

科學(xué)家們表示，很多恐龍都有羽毛。鳥類是由侏羅紀(jì)時(shí)期末期的有羽毛的小型恐龍演化而來(lái)的。

A dinosaur of a different feather

一只羽毛不同的恐龍

Caihong had two kinds of feathers. It also is the earliest-known creature with feathers that did not have the same shape on both sides. This is a physical quality that modern birds have and use to direct themselves while flying.

彩虹恐龍有兩種羽毛。它也是已知最早的羽毛具有兩側(cè)不對(duì)稱結(jié)構(gòu)的生物。這是現(xiàn)代鳥類具備的一種物理特性，用于在飛行時(shí)掌控方向。

The unevenly shaped feathers on Caihong were on its tail. This suggests that tail feathers, not arm feathers, were first used to improve movement through the air in flying dinosaurs, scientists said.

彩虹恐龍的這種不對(duì)稱羽毛長(zhǎng)在尾部。這表明是尾部羽毛，而不是翼部羽毛首先被恐龍用于改善飛行。

Xing Xu is a paleontologist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Xing Xu said, "It is extremely similar to some early birds such as Archaeopteryx." Archaeopteryx is the earliest known bird. It is believed to have lived 150 million years ago.

徐星是中國(guó)科學(xué)院的一名古生物學(xué)家。他說(shuō)：“這種恐龍與始祖鳥等一些早期鳥類非常相似。”始祖鳥是已知最早的鳥類，拒信它生活在1.5億年前。

"To be honest, I am not sure what function the feathers have," Xing Xu added. "And I don't think that you can completely exclude the possibility that the feathers helped the animal to get in the air."

徐星補(bǔ)充說(shuō)：“老實(shí)說(shuō)，我不確定羽毛有什么功能，我認(rèn)為不能完全排除它飛向天空的可能性。”

The dinosaur's full scientific name is Caihong juji, which means "rainbow with a big crest."

這種恐龍的完整學(xué)名是彩虹巨嵴，意思是“擁有大冠子的彩虹恐龍。”

I'm Pete Musto.

皮特·瑪索報(bào)道。