侏羅紀搏擊俱樂部 第138期:神熊力大無比

The bear could have pulled a door off a car with ease or crushed a steel drum like a tin can.

這種熊能不費力地扯下車門，或者把鋼鼓踩爛就像是罐頭一樣。

But in the cave, a second, super-sized ice age monster was found.

不過在洞穴里，又發(fā)現(xiàn)了第二只超大的冰期怪獸。

And it would change everything we thought we knew about the time.

我們認為我們了解的那個時期里所有的事情都將改變。

The discovery of natural trap cave in Wyoming revealed more than 40,000 fossils.

人們在懷俄明發(fā)現(xiàn)的自然陷阱里，有四萬多塊化石。

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Among them, the skeleton of a mega bear called the god bear by some, for its power.

它們中間，有一頭巨熊骨架，有些人稱之為神熊，因為它力大無比。

But scientists found something else in the cave, something that was just as menacing.

不過科學(xué)家們還在洞穴里找到了別的東西，是一樣危險兇殘的動物。

A predator of gigantic proportions - the Mega Lion.They are in fact the largest cats that ever lived.

一種龐大無比的掠食者——美洲擬獅。它們是迄今為止最大的貓科動物。

They are bigger than any other fossil cats.

要比其它化石貓科動物都大。

So what it means is, that you're dealing with a lion that probably weighs seven or eight hundred pounds.

這就意味著，我們面對的這種獅子重量可能達到七八百磅。

In addition to weighing more than a third of a ton, the Mega Lion stood nearly 2 meters tall, with a body length of nearly 4 meters.

除了體重超過三分之一噸外，擬獅站立時有近兩米高，體長接近四米。

And with those dimensions, the Mega Lion dwarfed its modern cousins.

這樣的體型，讓擬獅遠比其現(xiàn)代親戚龐大。

It was bigger than a prehistoric raptor.

它比史前迅猛龍還大。

The first thing that surprised paleontogists was its razor sharp claws.

首先讓古生物學(xué)家們吃驚的是它剃刀般鋒利的爪子。

The Mega Lion has five retractable claws on each foot.

擬獅每只腳上有五個可伸縮的爪子。

They're kept out of harm's way within these protective sheaths, but when he needs to use them, the Mega Lion would swing them into action, like switch-blade knives, and could slice up prey.

它們縮回到保護性鞘膜內(nèi)時不會受到損壞，不過當擬獅要使用它們時，就會把它們探出來，就像彈簧折刀一樣，還能切開獵物。

They could cut through flesh like a hot knife through butter.

它們切開血肉就像熱刀切過黃油一樣。

It also had powerful teeth and jaws.

擬獅也有有力的牙齒和雙頜。

While a modern lion has a bite force of over 900 pounds, this lion had a bite force of over 1,800 pounds.

現(xiàn)代獅子有超過900磅的咬合力，而這種巨獅的咬合力超過1800磅。

As with most modern large cats, their teeth and jaws are very strong, musculature in the skull to suffocate or snap the neck of the prey items.

和多數(shù)現(xiàn)代大型貓科動物一樣，它們的牙齒和雙頜都非常強壯，顱骨上的肌肉系統(tǒng)可以讓獵物窒息或折斷獵物的脖子。

Equipped with 20 retractable claws, and a mouthful of bone crushing teeth, they were major predators.

有了二十個可伸縮的爪子，加上滿口能咬碎骨頭的牙齒，它們是主要掠食者。

But paleontologists discovered something else - a weakness.These are not long distance runners.

不過古生物學(xué)家還發(fā)現(xiàn)了別的東西，它的弱點。它們不擅長長距離奔跑。

They're really better designed for chasing prey over a short distance.

它們的身體設(shè)計更適合短距離追逐獵物。

Their legs, although relatively long, are not designed for a long distance chase.They're ambush hunters.

它們的腿雖然相當長，但并不適合長距離追逐。它們是伏擊獵手。