化石發(fā)現表明世界上比較大的鸚鵡有3英尺多高

化石發(fā)現表明世界上最大的鸚鵡有3英尺多高

About 19 million years ago, the world's largest parrot lived in New Zealand and used its massive beak to crack open food, according to a new study.

根據一項新的研究，大約1900萬年前，世界上最大的鸚鵡生活在新西蘭，并用其巨大的喙打開食物。

The parrot stood over 3 feet tall and weighed about 15.5 pounds. The fossils were found among others dating to 19 million years ago near St. Bathans in Central Otago, New Zealand. This area is known for its bird fossils dating back to the Miocene period, which ranges between 5.3 and 23 million years ago.
這只鸚鵡身高超過3英尺，體重約15.5磅。這些化石是在距今1900萬年前在新西蘭奧塔哥中部的圣巴桑附近被發(fā)現的。這個地區(qū)以其鳥類化石而聞名，這些化石可以追溯到中新世時期，其范圍在530萬到2300萬年前。

A study describing the bird published Tuesday in the journal Biology Letters.

一項關于這種鳥的研究周二發(fā)表在“生物學快報”上。

"New Zealand is well known for its giant birds," says Trevor Worthy, study author and Flinders University associate professor. "Not only moa dominated avifaunas, but giant geese and adzebills shared the forest floor, while a giant eagle ruled the skies. But until now, no one has ever found an extinct giant parrot - anywhere."

“新西蘭以其巨型鳥類而聞名，”研究作者、弗林德斯大學副教授特雷弗·沃西(Trevor Worthy)說。“不僅MOA占主導地位的鳥類，而且巨大的鵝和adzebill共享森林地面，而一只巨大的鷹統治著天空。但直到現在，還沒有人在任何地方發(fā)現過已經滅絕的巨型鸚鵡。”

Researchers have named it Heracles inexpectatus in honor of its Herculean size and strength.

研究人員將其命名為Heracles inexpectatus，以紀念其巨大的尺寸和力量。

The parrot had a massive beak, which gives rise to questions about its diet.

鸚鵡有一個巨大的喙，這引起了關于它的飲食的問題。

"Heracles, as the largest parrot ever, no doubt with a massive parrot beak that could crack wide open anything it fancied, may well have dined on more than conventional parrot foods, perhaps even other parrots," said Mike Archer, study author and professor from the University of New South Wales' Palaeontology, Geobiology and Earth Archives Research Centre.

“Heracles ，作為有史以來最大的鸚鵡，無疑有著巨大的鸚鵡喙，可以打開它喜歡的任何東西，很可能吃的不僅僅是傳統的鸚鵡食物，甚至是其他鸚鵡，”研究作者、新南威爾士大學古生物學、地質生物學和地球檔案研究中心的教授邁克·阿徹說。

"Its rarity in the deposit is something we might expect if it was feeding higher up in the food chain. New Zealand keas, for example, have even developed a taste for sheep since these were introduced by European settlers in 1773."

“如果它在食物鏈中處于較高的位置，那么它在沉積物中的稀有程度是我們可能會預料到的。例如，自從1773年歐洲殖民者引入新西蘭Keas以來，它甚至對綿羊產生了興趣。”

When Heracles was alive, it would have been surrounded by laurel and palm trees in a subtropical forest.

當赫拉克勒斯活著的時候，它會被亞熱帶森林中的月桂樹和棕櫚樹包圍。

"Undoubtedly, these provided a rich harvest of fruit important in the diet of Heracles and the parrots and pigeons it lived with. But on the forest floor Heracles competed with adzebills and the forerunners of moa," said Suzanne Hand, study author and professor at the University of New South Wales Sydney.

研究作者、新南威爾士大學悉尼分校教授Suzanne Hand說：“毫無疑問，這為Heracles以及與其生活在一起的鸚鵡和鴿子的飲食提供了豐富的水果。但在森林地面上，Heracles與adzebill和moa的先驅展開了競爭。”

It's comparable to the giant dodo pigeon found on the Mascarene Islands east of Madagascar and twice the size of the previously known largest parrot, the New Zealand kakapo.

它與馬達加斯加東部馬斯卡倫群島上發(fā)現的巨型渡渡鳥相當，是此前已知最大鸚鵡——新西蘭鸮鸚鵡的兩倍大。

These early parrots were more primitive than ones found in Australia and other areas today.

這些早期的鸚鵡比今天在澳大利亞和其他地區(qū)發(fā)現的更原始。