#大學英語聽力#
New species dominate fossil news.
新物種主導化石新聞。
A new dinosaur is named about every two weeks, for example, and that’s to say nothing of the millions and millions years filled with organisms that we are just getting to know.
例如，大約每兩周就會有一隻新的恐龍被命名，更不用說我們剛剛認識的充滿了數百萬年生物體的新恐龍。
But anatomical novelty is only part of the story.
但解剖學上的新奇只是故事的一部分。
Each newly-discovered species becomes another thread in the history of life, interwoven with many others.
每一個新發現的物種都成為生命史上的另一條線，與許多其他物種交織在一起。
Where a species existed in space and time can be just as important as what it looks like or what it’s related to.
一個物種在空間和時間中存在的位置可能與它的外觀或與之相關的東西一樣重要。
Consider a fossil marine reptile found in Alaska.
考慮在阿拉斯加發現的一種海洋爬行動物化石。
Thalattosaurs don』t enjoy the same press as Mesozoic celebrities like ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs.
地中海龍不像魚龍和蛇頸龍這樣的中生代名人享有相同的媒體。
These creatures make up just one of many unusual reptile lineages that took to the seas during the Triassic, between 251 and 200 million years ago, but didn』t survive past the end of the period.
這些生物只是三疊紀期間進入海洋的許多不尋常的爬行動物譜系之一，三疊紀期間，也就是251到2億年前，但這些爬行動物並沒有在這一時期結束後倖存下來。
And even though it’s not clear who their closest relatives are, thalattosaurs looked something like pointy-snouted lizards that paddled around relatively warm waters near the shore.
儘管目前還不清楚它們的近親是誰，但地中海龍看起來有點像尖吻蜥蜴，它們在海岸附近相對溫暖的水域裡划槳。
Gunakadeit joseeae, named by paleontologist Patrick Druckenmiller and colleagues, kept similar habits, and was one of the last of its kind.
古生物學家派屈克·德魯肯米勒(Patrick Druckenmiller)及其同事命名的Gunakadeit joseeae保持著類似的習慣，是同類中最後的一種。
Gunakadeit - a Tlingit word for sea monster - stands out partly because of how much of the first individual’s skeleton made it into the fossil record.
Gunakadeit(海怪的一個Tlingit詞)脫穎而出，部分原因是第一個人的骨骼有多少進入了化石記錄。
This particular species is 「the first articulated and substantially complete thalattosaur fossil from North America,」 the researchers write, consisting of a skull and most of the rest of the body.
研究人員寫道，這個特殊的物種是「第一個來自北美的有關節的和基本完整的地中海恐龍化石」，由頭骨和身體的大部分組成。
Parts of the tail and the ends of the limbs are missing, but, even with these lost pieces, the thalattosaur is exceptional.
部分尾巴和四肢末端丟失了，但是，即使有這些丟失的部分，地中海恐龍也是例外。
The fossil is even articulated, the bones more or less in place after burial.
化石甚至被連接起來，骨頭在埋葬後或多或少地就位了。