《中英對照讀新聞》’Extinct’ tree frog rediscovered in India after 137 years 「絕種」137年的樹蛙在印度再度被發現

◎魏國金

An extraordinary tree frog thought to have died out more than a century ago has been rediscovered in India. The discovery was made by renowned Indian biologist Sathyabhama Das Biju and a team of scientists, in the jungles of north-eastern India.

一種被認為在一個多世紀前滅絕的獨特樹蛙，在印度再度被發現。該樹蛙是由著名的印度生物學家比朱及一個科學團隊在印度東北部所發現。

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The golf ball-sized frog lives in tree holes up to 6m above ground, which may have helped it stay undiscovered.

這種高爾夫球大小的樹蛙，生活在離地6米高的樹洞，這或許是讓牠一直未被發現的原因。

The height at which they live is not their only quirk, with females laying their fertilised eggs in tree holes filled with water, only to return after the tadpoles hatch, to feed them with unfertilised eggs.

生活在這樣的高度並非是牠們唯一怪異之處，在充滿水的樹洞內產下受精卵的母蛙，只有在蝌蚪孵化後才返回，然後餵以未受精卵。

Unlike most frogs, adults also eat vegetation rather than insects and larvae.

有別於多數蛙類，成蛙也以植物為食，而非昆蟲與幼蟲。

The newly uncovered frogs were first found by accident in 2007, during a search for other animals. Mr. Biju, of the University of Delhi, is known as The Frog Man in India, for discovering 89 of the country’s 350 or so frog species.

這種新揭露的青蛙是在2007年尋找其他動物時首次被意外發現。德里大學的比朱在印度以「蛙人」著稱，因為印度約350種蛙類中，有89種是他發現的。

Using DNA analysis, Mr. Biju and his colleagues have now identified the frogs as part of a new genus, meaning it has a new name.

利用DNA分析，比朱與他的同僚已將該青蛙確認為新的屬，這意味牠有新的名字。

It has changed from Polypedates jerdonii - named after Thomas Jerdon, the British zoologist that collected the previously only known specimens in 1870 - to Frankixalus jerdonii, after herpetologist Franky Bossuyt - Mr. Biju’s adviser when he studied at Vrije Universiteit in Brussels, Belgium.

牠從jerdonii樹蛙—以英國動物學家杰爾登為名，1870年他蒐集到先前唯一已知的該蛙樣本—更名為Frankixalus jerdonii，以比朱在比利時布魯塞爾自由大學研讀時的指導教授、爬蟲學家波舒伊特為名。

新聞辭典

die out：片語，逐漸消失、滅絕。例句：These species have now almost died out.（這些物種現在幾乎已經滅絕。）

quirk：名詞，古怪舉動、怪癖。例句：Everyone has his little quirks and oddities.（人人都有小小怪癖。）

lay：動詞，產卵、下蛋。例句：The hens aren’t laying in winter.（這些母雞冬天不下蛋。）