離開
進入《中英對照讀新聞》Fossil of a four-legged snake found in Brazil 巴西境內發現四腳蛇化石
◎李信漢
A fossil of a four-legged snake uncovered in Brazil has shed new light on the origins of snakes as land burrowers, not sea creatures.
巴西挖掘出一副四腳蛇的化石，這對蛇可能起源於陸地生物、而非海洋生物，提出新說法。
This ancestor of modern day snakes is the first of its kind and was found in Brazil’s Crato Formation.
這隻現代蛇的遠祖，是首次在巴西的克拉圖地層（譯按：為早期白堊紀時期地層）被發現。
"The newly discovered species Tetrapodophis amplectus, which lived during the Early Cretaceous 146 to 100 million years ago, maintains many classic snake features, such as a short snout, long braincase, elongated body, scales, fanged teeth and a flexible jaw to swallow large prey," said the study, led by British and German scientists.
「最新發現的物種Tetrapodophis amplectus，生存於早期白堊紀1億4600萬年至1億年前間，保有許多蛇的典型特徵，像是短鼻、腦殼長、身體細長、有鱗片、尖牙和用來吞下大型獵物、可廣角度開合的下巴。」以英國和德國科學家為首撰寫的研究指出。
These ancient reptiles had the same flexibility as modern snakes so they could constrict their prey, but they had limbs each with five well-defined digits.
這種古代的爬行動物擁有與現代蛇一樣的靈活度，所以牠們可以纏住牠們的獵物，但牠們有4條腿，且4條腿上還有5根分明的腳趾。
"The main, glaring difference is Tetrapodophis’s four limbs, which do not appear to have been used for locomotion. Rather, the shorter exterior digits and lengthened second digit suggest that the limbs were used for grasping, the authors say, either to seize prey or to clasp during mating."
「主要的、明顯的差別是Tetrapodophis的4條腿，牠們的4條腿似乎不是用來移動。而從較短且在外圍的腳趾及較長的第2根腳趾可以看出，這4條腿是用來緊抓東西用的，研究報告的作者說，（4條腿）可捕捉獵物或在交配時抱住配偶。」
Its lack of a long, flattened tail also distinguished it from aquatic animals, "further suggesting that snakes did not evolve from marine ancestors," according to the findings in the journal Science. （AFP）
牠缺乏又長又平的尾巴，也可將牠從海洋生物中區分開來，「進一步指出蛇不是從海洋的祖先演化而來，」根據這篇刊登在《科學》期刊的研究報告。（法新社）
新聞辭典
shed light on：動詞片語，闡明，解釋清楚。例句：I hope my explanation sheds light on their behavior.（我希望我的說明能清楚解釋他們的行為。）
fossil：名詞，化石。例句：He says the school’s directors are a bunch of old fossils.（他說學校的董事會是一群老化石。）
reptile：名詞，爬行動物，爬蟲類。例句：Snakes, lizards, and crocodiles are reptiles.（蛇、蜥蜴和鱷魚是爬行動物。）
