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(xué)家早已發(fā)現(xiàn)了恐龍時(shí)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(duì)其進(jìn)行法醫(yī)分析和創(chuàng)造《侏羅紀(jì)公園》般的夢(mèng)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(guó)地質(zhì)大學(xué)的古生物學(xué)家邢立達(dá)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)了這項(xiàng)研究，具體報(bào)告發(fā)表在今天的“當(dāng)代生物學(xué)”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(bào)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(gè)礦山?；谖舶偷慕Y(jié)構(gòu)，它可能來自白堊紀(jì)時(shí)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(dòng)物的一個(gè)分支，據(jù)國(guó)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(dāng)你為該樣品可能擁有恐龍基因興奮之時(shí)，保存完好的羽毛讓科學(xué)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(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)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。總之，如果尾巴的其余部分看起來像“伊娃”，這個(gè)恐龍可能不會(huì)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(dá)和他的團(tuán)隊(duì)挖掘得來的，而是他們從克欽的首都密支那的琥珀市場(chǎng)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(shí)候已被打磨成型。
科學(xué)家早已發(fā)現(xiàn)了恐龍時(shí)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(duì)其進(jìn)行法醫(yī)分析和創(chuàng)造《侏羅紀(jì)公園》般的夢(mèng)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(guó)地質(zhì)大學(xué)的古生物學(xué)家邢立達(dá)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)了這項(xiàng)研究，具體報(bào)告發(fā)表在今天的“當(dāng)代生物學(xué)”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(bào)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(gè)礦山?；谖舶偷慕Y(jié)構(gòu)，它可能來自白堊紀(jì)時(shí)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(dòng)物的一個(gè)分支，據(jù)國(guó)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(dāng)你為該樣品可能擁有恐龍基因興奮之時(shí)，保存完好的羽毛讓科學(xué)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(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)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。總之，如果尾巴的其余部分看起來像“伊娃”，這個(gè)恐龍可能不會(huì)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(dá)和他的團(tuán)隊(duì)挖掘得來的，而是他們從克欽的首都密支那的琥珀市場(chǎng)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(shí)候已被打磨成型。