侏羅紀搏擊俱樂部 第87期:是牙印還是爪子印?

Everything that happens to an animal after it dies destroys information and that's the reason why in the end so little is left.

動物死后發(fā)生的每件事都會銷毀信息，這就是最后剩不下什么的原因。

But think of the luck that we have to have simply to find it.

其實我們能找到就算夠幸運的了。

They began to study the evidence to try and understand what had caused the gash and puncture wounds in the bones.

他們開始研究證據(jù)，試圖了解這些骨頭上的溝痕和穿孔是如何形成的。

What does the scratches on the leg bone of a dinosaur mean?Are they tooth marks, are they claw marks?

這些恐龍腿骨上的劃痕意味著什么呢?是牙印還是爪子印?

That is the first question.

這是第一個問題。

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But once we look closer we start to understand really what a tooth mark looks like, there's a certain characteristic to it.

但一旦我們更進一步地觀察，我們會開始懂得牙印看起來像什么，有一定的特征。

Then the question becomes: "How can we figure out who made that tooth mark?"

接下來的問題就是：“我們怎么知道到底是誰留下牙印的呢?”

Obviously, we need to know who're the potential perpetrator, who else was living in the environment, who was potentially available to, if you will, commit this crime.

顯然，我們得先確定誰是潛在的行兇者，還有誰在這種環(huán)境里生活，誰有可能犯下這樣的“罪行”。

Then, a clue.

有一條線索。

Mixed in among the various herbivore bones was a nearly complete skeleton of a monstrous looking predator - Ceratosaurus.

在各類植食性恐龍骨頭之中有一付幾乎是完整的骨架，看上去怪物般肉食性動物：角鼻龍。

He stood about 4 meters tall and 7 meters long.

它大概有4米高，7米長。

Compared to later dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus-Rex, he was smaller.

跟晚些時候的恐龍比如霸王龍相比，它要小一些。

One feature easily distinguishes this meat eater from others - a nose horn.

一個特征輕易地將這個食肉者與其它的區(qū)分開來：鼻部的角。

The name Ceratosaurus means horned lizard.

角鼻龍原意就是長角的蜥蜴。

It was the first dinosaur found that had a horn on its nose.

它是人們發(fā)現(xiàn)的第一個鼻部長角的恐龍。

It wasn't a cone-shaped horn.It was actually a sort of flat blade shape.

它的角不是錐形,實際上是扁平的刃狀角。

They're not for a combat at all.

這種角完全不是用來戰(zhàn)斗的。

And if we were looking into modern world for an equivalent, we might look at something like the crest on the top of the head of a rooster.

要是在現(xiàn)代世界給這種角找個對應物的話估計會更像公雞頭上的雞冠子。

Along with its unique skull design, Ceratosaurus has another feature that distinguishes it from other predators: four fingers on each hand.

在頭骨的獨特設計之外角鼻龍還有一個和其它掠食者不同特點：它的前肢各有四只手指。

One thing that's unusual when we look at Ceratosaurus is that it's got seemingly extra fingers compared to other of these predatory dinosaurs which usually have basically three fingers on each hand.

我們能在角鼻龍身上注意到一個不尋常的特征與其它的掠食性恐龍相比它要多出一個手指而一般的掠食恐龍只有三只手指。

Ceratosaurus has a forth.

角鼻龍有第四只手指。