最大恐龍化石亮相美國自然歷史博物館
Four years ago, a rancher in the Patagonia region of Argentina came upon an old bone sticking out of his desert property near La Flecha.
四年前，在阿根廷的巴塔哥尼亞地區，一名農場主在其位於拉弗萊什附近的沙漠農場裏偶然發現了一塊古老的骨頭。
With recent news of exciting dinosaur finds in that country in mind, he scratched around some more. Then he went to a local museum to ask paleontologists to come look for more fossils.
在那之前不久，傳出了在該國發現了恐龍化石的消息。想到那些令人興奮的消息，他又在四周扒拉了一番。之後，他去了當地的一家博物館，請那裏的古生物學專家去尋找更多化石。
Many important dinosaur discoveries are made by nonexperts in just this casual way. The rancher’s find soon led to the exposure of skeletal remains of six of the biggest titanosaurs. These herbivores lived about 100 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous Period, on all continents, including Antarctica. They seemed especially plentiful in southern lands.
很多和恐龍有關的重要發現，都是非專業人士這麼隨意地發現的。這名農場主的發現很快便讓六隻碩大無朋的泰坦巨龍的骸骨出現在了世人面前。這些食草動物生活在大約1億年前的白堊紀末期。包括南極洲在內的各大洲都有它們的身影，但它們似乎在南半球的大陸上尤其多。
Now, the most imposing one of these dinosaurs from the far south of South America, assembled from 84 fossil pieces excavated from the rancher’s land, is the newest eyeful of ancient life on display at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. The hulking skeleton cast made its debut as a permanent attraction on Friday. Museum officials and scientists called it a must-see addition to the ranks of such popular icons as the institution’s great blue whale and the fierce Tyrannosaurus rex.
從那名農場主的土地上挖出的化石中的84塊拼湊成了一整隻恐龍。目前，這隻來自南美洲最南端、頗能令人生畏的恐龍被陳列在曼哈頓的美國自然歷史博物館(American Museum of Natural History)裏，是那裏衝擊人們眼眶的最新古代生物展品。上週五，這尊巨型骨架鑄件作爲永久性展品首次亮相。博物館管理人員和科學家稱，它是該館備受歡迎的大藍鯨和兇猛的霸王龍等標誌性展品之外，又一必看展品。
“There’s nothing like finding a great new fossil, especially such a huge one,” said Michael J. Novacek, the museum’s senior vice president, provost of science and a curator of paleontology.
“什麼都比不上新發現的大化石，特別是這麼大的一個，”博物館資深副館長邁克爾·J·諾瓦採克(Michael J. Novacek)說。諾瓦採克還是科學事務負責人兼古生物展館館長。
The new research is expected to yield insights into the physiology of dinosaurs and how they were able to grow and function as such large creatures.
新研究預計會帶來有關恐龍的生理機能，以及它們這麼大的動物是怎麼成長和活動的認識。
“Paleontology has become less geological and more biological in the last 20 years or so,” said Mark A. Norell, chairman of the paleontology division at the museum and a leading dinosaur researcher. He cited the field’s new “geochemical tools” for determining diet, growth patterns and locomotion. “All of us are simply biologists who work on fossils,” he added.
“過去大約20年裏，古生物學和地質學的關係減少，和生物學的關係增強，”該博物館古生物學部門負責人、知名恐龍研究人員馬克·A·諾雷爾(Mark A. Norell)說。他用該領域新出現的“地球化學手段”確定恐龍的日常飲食、成長模式和運動力。“我們所有人都只是研究化石的生物學家，”他接着說。
The exhibit is not only a centerpiece for the museum’s fossil collections but also the start of a wide range of dinosaur programs for the year, including symposiums and another exhibition, “Dinosaurs Among Us,” opening March 21. It will highlight the signal developments in remarkable research supporting a close relationship between dinosaurs and birds that are alive today.
這件展品不僅是該博物館化石藏品中的明星，也是今年一系列廣泛的恐龍項目的開端。相關項目包括多場專題研討會和另一場將於3月21日開展的展覽“我們當中的恐龍”(Dinosaurs Among Us)。它將突出展示一些非凡研究中的重大進展，表明恐龍和現今鳥類之間的密切關係。
The Patagonian skeleton was not an easy fit in its New York home. At 122 feet in length, it was a bit too long for the gallery. Part of its 39-foot-long neck extends through an opening in a wall toward the elevator banks, as if to welcome visitors to the fossil floors.
在位於紐約的家裏，巴塔哥尼亞恐龍骨架在安放的時候並不容易。122英尺（約合37米）的長度相對展廳來說太長了。通過牆上開的一個洞，39英尺的脖子部分伸向了電梯間，像是在歡迎參觀者來到化石展區。
This titanosaur was a young adult, gender undetermined. Its appetite for all kinds of vegetation must have been prodigious. Based on bone sizes, researchers estimated that this individual weighed 70 tons — as much as 10 African elephants, the heaviest land animals today. Think of its possible heft if it were fully grown. Think of it satisfying its huge appetite by stretching its long neck to graze far and wide. With only a few shifts in position, it might have mowed the equivalent of all the grass in Yankee Stadium in a morning.
這隻泰坦巨龍是一隻年輕的成年恐龍，性別尚未確定。它對各種蔬菜的胃口肯定頗爲驚人。根據骨頭的大小，研究人員估計這隻恐龍重70噸，相當於10頭非洲象的重量。非洲象是現今最重的陸地動物。想想它完全長大了後可能達到的重量。再想想它把長長的脖子舒展開，四處吃草，滿足自己食慾的場景。只需變換幾次姿勢，它一早上便可能吃下相當於洋基體育場(Yankee Stadium)整個場地面積的土地上所有的草。
Weight was also a factor in preparing the skeleton cast for display, a task undertaken by Research Casting International in Canada. The actual mineralized fossils were too heavy to mount. Instead, all “bones” are made from lightweight fiberglass based on digital copies of the original fossils.
重量也是佈置這尊骨架鑄件時要考慮的一個因素。布展由加拿大研究鑄件國際(Research Casting International)完成。因爲已經礦物化，實際的化石太重，架不上去。因此，博物館裏的所有“化石”都是在化石原件的數字複製品的基礎上，用輕質玻璃纖維製成的。
Much of the grueling excavation leading to the discovery was done by teams led by José Luis Carballido and Diego Pol, paleontologists at Paleontological Museum Egidio Feruglio in Argentina. They began excavating for months at a time after the rancher’s visit. Sometimes it took a week of digging to isolate a single femur or a forelimb. Thighs and upper arms are critical to judging the size and weight of a dinosaur.
在這次發現中，大量令人筋疲力盡的發掘工作都是由阿根廷埃吉迪奧·費魯利奧古生物學博物館(Paleontological Museum Egidio Feruglio)的古生物學家若澤·路易斯·卡瓦利多(José Luis Carballido)和迭戈·布勒(Diego Pol)帶領的團隊完成的。在那名農場主去過後不久，他們就開始了挖掘。挖掘工作持續了數月。有時候，需要挖一週時間，才能從泥土中挖出一塊股骨或一段前肢骨骼。大腿和上臂對判斷恐龍的身形大小和重量至關重要。
Dr. Pol said the excavations revealed that at least six of these giant individuals, all young adults, had died at the site of what had been a flood plain near a river. Their deaths had happened at three distinct times, anywhere from a few years to centuries apart. Like many herding animals, they may have become isolated from the group and died of stress and hunger near their watering hole.
布勒博士表示，他們發掘出土了至少六隻身形龐大的恐龍，都是年輕的成年恐龍。它們死亡時所在的地方，原本是一片臨河的沖積平原。它們是分三批死亡的，每次相隔幾年到幾個世紀。和很多羣居動物一樣，它們可能和羣體隔絕開了，後在飲水地附近死於壓力和飢餓。
“That’s when we realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime discovery,” Dr. Pol said. Dinosaurs are the big game to fossil hunters, and these were some of the biggest plant-eating dinosaurs ever found.
“這時，我們意識到這是一個千年難遇的發現，”布勒博士說。對尋找化石的人來說，恐龍是終極獵物。而這些恐龍又是迄今爲止發現的最大的食草恐龍。
The size and distinctive shape of an eight-foot femur of one specimen astonished scientists. This appeared to be a previously unknown titanosaur species, yet unnamed. Dr. Pol said a report that is being prepared may soon propose a formal species name.
其中一隻恐龍的股骨長達八英尺。其大小和獨特形狀令科學家感到震驚。這似乎是一種以前不爲人知的泰坦巨龍種類，因而現在尚未命名。布勒博士稱，正在準備一份報告，報告可能很快便會提出正式的物種名稱。
In a bravura moment, Dr. Pol had his picture taken stretched out on the ground beside the femur, about the size of a living room couch. The photograph caught the attention of paleontologists at the natural history museum in New York, where Dr. Pol had done his Ph.D. research. “Maybe we can get that thing,” one said. “That would look great for a renovated dinosaur gallery” another said.
布勒博士還躺在那塊大小和客廳長沙發大致相當的股骨旁邊的地上拍了張照，以示炫耀。在紐約的自然歷史博物館，這張照片引起了古生物學者的注意。布勒博士正是在該博物館完成自己的博士研究的。“或許我們能夠拿到那個東西，”一人說。“它應該和我們翻修過的恐龍展廳很搭，”另一人說。
Early last year, Dr. Novacek signed the deal with the Argentine museum to build the full-size skeleton cast for permanent display in New York.
去年年初，諾瓦採克博士同阿根廷那家博物館簽訂了協議。協議的內容是製作一件和原物一樣大小的骨架鑄件，用於在紐約進行永久性展出。
On a visit a few days before the titanosaur’s unveiling, workers were applying finishing touches as Dr. Norell paused at the entrance, under the watchful eye and toothy jaw of the star attraction.
在離這隻泰坦巨龍揭幕還剩幾天時間時，筆者去了一趟博物館。工人們正在進行最後的調製，諾雷爾博士停在入口處，那裏正好位於這件明星展品警覺的眼睛和滿是牙齒的下頜下方。
“I guarantee you are going to remember this first impression,” Dr. Norell said. “Seeing something like this, you don’t quite have anything to compare its size and aspect with.”
“我保證你會記住它給你的第一印象，”諾雷爾博士說。“看到像這樣的東西時，人們沒有太多的東西可以用來和它的大小及外表相比擬。”
He was right. The dinosaur was inexpressibly strange and big. Once again, we are reminded of what we know: Dinosaurs mostly were big, an engaging mystery and a challenge.
他說的沒錯。這隻恐龍是個視覺奇觀，龐大到無法形容。它再次讓我們想起了所知道的情況：恐龍大多身形龐大，既是誘人的謎團，也是挑戰。
The titanosaur’s arrival at the museum may inspire new understanding of these incredible creatures. It is exciting enough to walk a corridor to the fossil galleries in anticipation of meeting it, and spending some time with old friends of fond memory.
到達紐約的博物館後，這隻泰坦巨龍可能會激起對這些神奇動物新的瞭解。單是走在那條通向化石展廳的走廊裏，知道會看到它，並會和有過美好回憶的”老友“共同度過一段時間就足夠激動人心了。
Dr. Novacek is not bothered by some skepticism that the specimens are from the biggest dinosaur discovered so far, and that these may soon be eclipsed in size by new excavations.
有人懷疑這些恐龍不是迄今發現的最大恐龍，並稱它們的大小可能很快便會被新發現的恐龍超過。但這並未給諾瓦採克帶來困擾。
“Every time we find the biggest dinosaur,” he said, “we soon find a bigger one in the next dig.”
“每次發現最大的恐龍之後，”他說，“我們很快就會在下一次發掘中發現更大的。”
