Scientists have found dinosaur-era feathers and evidence of them in fossil impressions before. But this is the first time they’ve discovered a full-feathered tail section preserved in amber, ripe for forensic analysis and Spielbergian dreams.
科學家早已發(fā)現(xiàn)了恐龍時代的羽毛，并擁有其印在化石上證據(jù)。但這是他們第一次在琥珀中發(fā)現(xiàn)一根完整的羽毛覆蓋的尾部，等待著人們對其進行法醫(yī)分析和創(chuàng)造《侏羅紀公園》般的夢想。
Paleontologist Lida Xing of the China University of Geosciences led the research, as detailed in a report that came out today in the journal Current Biology.
中國地質(zhì)大學的古生物學家邢立達領導了這項研究，具體報告發(fā)表在今天的“當代生物學”雜志上。
The sample itself, known as DIP-V-15103 and unofficially as "Eva" after the wife of the report’s co-author, came from a mine in Kachin, a state in northern Myanmar. Based on the structure of the tail, it likely came from a Cretaceous-era young coelurasaur, a subgroup of therapods that includes everything from tyrannosauruses to birds, points out National Geographic.
樣品本身被稱為DIP-V-15103，并以該報告的共同作者的妻子“伊娃”的名字作為非官方命名。該樣品來自緬甸北部克欽邦的一個礦山。基于尾巴的結(jié)構，它可能來自白堊紀時代的一只年輕虛骨龍類恐龍，是包括從暴龍到鳥類的節(jié)肢動物的一個分支，據(jù)國家地理介紹。
While you should check your excitement for the possibilities of dino DNA, the preserved feathers gave the scientists forensic insight into their role. The encased plumage seems to be ornamental rather than functional: Previous research by the same team found that birds from this sample’s era had similar feathers to those of birds today. In short, if the rest of the tail looked like Eva, this dino likely wouldn’t have been able to fly.
當你為該樣品可能擁有恐龍基因興奮之時，保存完好的羽毛讓科學家能夠通過法醫(yī)視角洞察它。鑲嵌在琥珀中的羽毛似乎是更具觀賞性，而非功能性：同一個團隊的早前研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，來自該樣品的鳥類與今天的鳥類羽毛類似?？傊?，如果尾巴的其余部分看起來像“伊娃”，這個恐龍可能不會飛。
Xing and his team didn’t dig the sample up, however -- they collected it from an amber market in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin. Burmese amber is often used as jewelry, and Eva had already been shaped by the time it was collected with other samples in 2015.
該樣品并不是由邢立達和他的團隊挖掘得來的，而是他們從克欽的首都密支那的琥珀市場收集到的。緬甸琥珀經(jīng)常被用作首飾、伊娃，和其他樣品一樣，于2015年被收集的時候已被打磨成型。
科學家早已發(fā)現(xiàn)了恐龍時代的羽毛，并擁有其印在化石上證據(jù)。但這是他們第一次在琥珀中發(fā)現(xiàn)一根完整的羽毛覆蓋的尾部，等待著人們對其進行法醫(yī)分析和創(chuàng)造《侏羅紀公園》般的夢想。
Paleontologist Lida Xing of the China University of Geosciences led the research, as detailed in a report that came out today in the journal Current Biology.
中國地質(zhì)大學的古生物學家邢立達領導了這項研究，具體報告發(fā)表在今天的“當代生物學”雜志上。
The sample itself, known as DIP-V-15103 and unofficially as "Eva" after the wife of the report’s co-author, came from a mine in Kachin, a state in northern Myanmar. Based on the structure of the tail, it likely came from a Cretaceous-era young coelurasaur, a subgroup of therapods that includes everything from tyrannosauruses to birds, points out National Geographic.
樣品本身被稱為DIP-V-15103，并以該報告的共同作者的妻子“伊娃”的名字作為非官方命名。該樣品來自緬甸北部克欽邦的一個礦山。基于尾巴的結(jié)構，它可能來自白堊紀時代的一只年輕虛骨龍類恐龍，是包括從暴龍到鳥類的節(jié)肢動物的一個分支，據(jù)國家地理介紹。
While you should check your excitement for the possibilities of dino DNA, the preserved feathers gave the scientists forensic insight into their role. The encased plumage seems to be ornamental rather than functional: Previous research by the same team found that birds from this sample’s era had similar feathers to those of birds today. In short, if the rest of the tail looked like Eva, this dino likely wouldn’t have been able to fly.
當你為該樣品可能擁有恐龍基因興奮之時，保存完好的羽毛讓科學家能夠通過法醫(yī)視角洞察它。鑲嵌在琥珀中的羽毛似乎是更具觀賞性，而非功能性：同一個團隊的早前研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，來自該樣品的鳥類與今天的鳥類羽毛類似?？傊?，如果尾巴的其余部分看起來像“伊娃”，這個恐龍可能不會飛。
Xing and his team didn’t dig the sample up, however -- they collected it from an amber market in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin. Burmese amber is often used as jewelry, and Eva had already been shaped by the time it was collected with other samples in 2015.
該樣品并不是由邢立達和他的團隊挖掘得來的，而是他們從克欽的首都密支那的琥珀市場收集到的。緬甸琥珀經(jīng)常被用作首飾、伊娃，和其他樣品一樣，于2015年被收集的時候已被打磨成型。