去年发现几种新恐龙：在琥珀中发现的最小的已知恐龙

去年发现几种新恐龙：在琥珀中发现的最小的已知恐龙现在古生物学家已经揭示了可能是有史以来最小的恐龙。And now paleontologists have revealed what may be the smallest dinosaur of all time.但并不是所有的“可怕的蜥蜴”都是巨大的。Part of their success rested on the fact that they came in all shapes and sizes.他们的成功部分是基于这样一个事实，他们来了各种形状和大小。

#大学英语听力#

The word “dinosaurs” conjures up images of fierce and enormous reptiles.

“恐龙”这个词让人联想到凶猛巨大的爬行动物的形象。

But not all of the “terrible lizards” were huge.

但并不是所有的“可怕的蜥蜴”都是巨大的。

Part of their success rested on the fact that they came in all shapes and sizes.

他们的成功部分是基于这样一个事实，他们来了各种形状和大小。

And now paleontologists have revealed what may be the smallest dinosaur of all time.

现在古生物学家已经揭示了可能是有史以来最小的恐龙。

Described by China University of Geosciences paleontologist Lida Xing and his colleagues in a study published Wednesday in Nature the 99-million-year-old fossil was found in Myanmar and is part of a growing number of amber-bound windows into the Mesozoic world.

中国地质大学古生物学家邢立大及其同事在周三发表在“自然”(Nature)杂志上的一项研究中称，这块9900万年前的化石是在缅甸发现的，是进入中生代世界的越来越多琥珀色窗户的一部分。

Paleontologists working in the Southeast Asian country have in recent years encountered dinosaur tails baby birds new insect species and even seagoing creatures that became enclosed in gobs of sticky sap.

近年来，在这个东南亚国家工作的古生物学家们遇到了恐龙尾巴、小鸟、新的昆虫物种，甚至是被粘稠的树液包裹起来的海洋生物。

What makes this latest find stand out however is just how tiny it is.

然而，让这一最新发现脱颖而出的是它有多小。

The newly discovered dinosaur preserved within hardened resin during the Mid-Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era is represented by nothing more than a skull.

这只新发现的恐龙，在中生代的中白垩世时期保存在硬化树脂中，代表的只不过是一个头骨。

From its tiny teeth to the delicate ringed bones of its eyes it only measures about half an inch long.

从它的小牙齿到精致的眼圈骨骼，它只有半英寸长。

But even though amber-encased fossils are sometimes difficult to study—given that researchers must rely on imaging techniques to slice through the layers of resin—it is apparent that this little creature was a toothed bird that lived during the reign of its dinosaurian kin.

但是，尽管琥珀包裹的化石有时很难研究-考虑到研究人员必须依靠成像技术来切割树脂层-但很明显，这种小生物是一种生活在恐龙近亲统治时期的有牙齿的鸟。

Xing and his co-authors have named it Oculudentavis khaungraae—with the genus being derived from “toothed eye bird” in Latin and the species being designated in honor of fossil collector Khaung Ra who donated the item for study.

Xing和他的合著者将其命名为Oculudentavis khaungraae-该属源自拉丁语中的“齿眼鸟”，该物种是为纪念化石收藏家Khaung Ra而命名的，Khaung Ra捐赠了该项目进行研究。

Precisely where Oculudentavis belongs on the bird family tree is not quite clear.

Oculudentavis在鸟类族谱中的确切位置尚不十分清楚。