恐龙行星（2011）

这是一个
We are living through
发现恐龙的
THE golden age
黄金时期
of dinosaur discoveries.
世界上
from all over the world
整整一个时代的恐龙
a whole new generation of dinosaurs has been revealed.
从庞然大物
From the biggest giants...
到致命杀手
and the deasliest killers.
以及那些怪异的小东西
to the weird and wonderful.
从北极圈
From the Arctic
到非洲大♥陆♥
to Africa.
从南美到亚洲
From South America to Asia.
通过最新的发现
using the latest evidence
我们首次
for the first time
以全球视野来认识这不可思议的生物
we have a truly global view of these incredible animals.
为生存而战
Fight for life
现在
this time
我们将回到1500万年前
we journey back 150 million years
的侏罗纪
to the Jurassic Period.
此时的星球属于那些庞然杀手
A time when the first giant killers stalked the earth.
但是这些庞然大物不只生存在大♥陆♥上
But these giants weren't confined to the land.
最近的研究
Recent discoveries
在大洋中发现了令人惊奇的新杀手
have revealed an astonishing new hunter in the oceans.
他们对其他生物产生了巨大的威胁
These new giant killers posed the greatest of threats.
但是自己的生死却在一线之间
But the smallest advantage to being balanced between life and death
捕食者与猎物之间永远上演着求生的大戏
predator and prey were locked in a perpetual battle for survival.
为了更好的理解当时的情景
to understand this world
我们将回到1500万年前
we must travel back 150 million years
此时的欧洲大♥陆♥和巴哈马群岛并无什么不同
to a time when much of Europe looked like the Bahamas.
热带海洋滋养了这些巨型捕食者
A time when these warm tropical seas were home to giant predators.
它们的遗骸
some of which have left their mark
在岩石中被发现
etched in stone.
这片位于瑞士的悬崖
This cliff face in Switzerland
上布满了
is carved with a series
无数沟槽
of enormous gouges and grooves.
其中的许多超过九米长
Many over nine metres long.
事实上 这一整块岩石
The entire rock face is actually
是一枚巨型化石
one huge fossil
侏罗纪时期海洋的上升断层
an upturned slab of Jurassic Ocean floor.
这些痕迹是捕食者
And the marks were left by a predator
在捕猎时留下的
as it hunted for food.
像这样的扁鲨
Sharks like this squatina
与生存至今的天使鲨十分相似
are similar to angel sharks which still exist today.
它是默默等待的突袭者
It's an ambush predator and lies in wait.
但是这片海洋里还有更大的猎手
But in these seas there are bigger hunters.
白垩龙
This is Kimmerosaurus.
蛇颈龙属
They belong to a group called plesiosaurs.
长达六米
has 6 meters long
是侏罗纪海洋中最成功的杀手之一
they're one of the Jurassic Ocean's most successful hunters.
也是最常见的杀手
And also one of the most common.
但是它不同寻常的捕食方式
And it's this unusual hunting method
使我们发现了它存在过的证据
that left its trace on the ocean floor
我们现在知道瑞士的那片岩石
We now know that the rock face in Switzerland
记录了它捕食留下的痕迹
is etched with the marks of hunting plesiosaurs.
但他们还不是海洋之王
But these giants were not the king of the seas.
很多化石证据显示了被撕开的证据
Many of the fossils show evidence of having been violently ripped apart.
很显然
clearly, there were
还有比他们大得多得多
much much bigger predators
的生物潜伏在海洋中
lurking in these seas.
2008年 北极圈高纬度的一座小岛
in 2008, in an island in the high Arctic,
的冻土层里出土了一枚化石
a fossil was dug out of the frozen earth.
他的头骨几乎有霸王龙的两倍大
Its skull alone was nearly twice that of T-rex.
这是一个巨型杀手
This was an enormous killer.
我们从未见过的杀手
a killer the like of which had never been seen before.
超过50米长 45吨♥重
more than 50 meters long and weight of 45 tons
无疑是最强大的海生爬行动物
this is the most powerful marine reptile ever discovered.
是大部分侏罗纪海洋猎手的两倍大
Twice as big as most Jurassic Ocean predators...
这是杀手X
this is predator X
一只将被
an animal
记录为史上最致命杀手的动物
that must go down in history as one of the ocean's most deadly hunters.
它的猎物 比如白垩龙
And it's prey like Kimmerosaurus
已然进入它的视线
that are in its sights.
对像杀手X这样的巨大猎食者
Skull analysis of giant killers
头骨分♥析♥表明
like predator X
他们是靠气味捕食的
suggests that they hunted their prey by smell...
使水流通过特殊的内置鼻孔
channeling water through special internal nostril
它们可以静静的接近猎物
allowing them to silently hone in on their target.
通过分♥析♥解剖片
by anlyanzing their anatomy
我们发现杀手X
we've calculated that Predator X
可以以秒速五米的速度前进
could move up to five metres per second -
略快于白垩龙
fractionally faster than a Kimmerosaurus.
白垩龙唯一的逃生方法
The kimmerosaurs only defence
就是拚命的逃向浅水区域避难
is to head for the refuge of shallow water.
这一次 X杀手庞大的体型致使其捕猎失败
this time, Predator X's size works against him.
X杀手在浅水区的先天不足
Unable to hunt efficiently in shallow water...
使白垩龙有了宝贵的避难场所
..means that the Kimmerosaurus can use this as a refuge.
足以影响生死的细小优势
A subtle advantage that makes the difference between life and death.
杀手X和白垩龙
Predator X and Kimmerosaurus
只是捕食者与猎物
are just one example
你死我活斗争的
of a predator-prey relationship
一个缩影
locked in a fight for survival.
北美洲的西部
In the western states of North America
有着丰富的化石资源
is one of the richest sources of dinosaur fossils.
被称为摩里逊岩层
It's known as the Morrison Formation.
最近这些岩石
recently these rocks
为我们生动演示了
have given us a tantalising glimpse
两种恐龙共同进化
of how two dinosaurs adapted together
以抵御共同敌人的情形
to protect themselves against another deadly predator...
剑龙和弯龙
..Stegosaurus and Camptosaurus.
这两类恐龙的化石
Fossils of these two species
总是出现在
are almost always found
同一片区域
in the same area.
2008年
in 2008
两只恐龙的
footprints of the two
脚印在同一处被发现
were recovered from the same site.
看来它们生活在一起
It seemed that they lived alongside one another.
但是为什么两只毫不相关的素食恐龙
But why would two unrelated plant-eaters
生活在一起呢?
live together?
剑龙
Stegosaurus -
重型坦克
a heavily armoured tank
在尾部有着致命的武器
with a deadly weapon at the end of its tail...
钉尾
known as a thagomizer.
弯龙则是一种小得多的素食恐龙
Camptosaurus - a much smaller plant-eater
几乎没有有效的防御手段
with no obvious defences.
头骨分♥析♥显示
Skull analysis shows
弯龙的眼睛更大
that Camptosaurus has bigger eyes -
相对于体型来说 大脑也更大
and relative to its body - a much bigger brain.
弯龙充当了哨兵的角色
Camptosaurus appears to be a lookout.
而剑龙则是打手
While the armoured Stegosaurus provides the muscle.
看来剑龙和弯龙
It's likely Camptosaurus and Stegosaurus
在这个危险的世界里
stuck close together for mutual protection...
团结在一起相互帮助
..in a world where danger is ever-present.
异特龙
Allosaurus -
一吨♥半重的突袭者 有着致命的撕咬能力
a one-and-a-half-tonne ambush hunter with a lethal bite.
十分罕见
The world had never known a predator like it.
但是没有了突发制人的效果
but haven lost the element of suprise
现在是做出抉择的时候了 挨饿
it's now faced with the prospect of either starving...
还是面对侏罗纪最强大的防御者
or facing the most well-protected giant of the Jurassic.
从后突袭几乎是不可能的
virtually impregnable from behind
它只能正面面对剑龙
a predator needs to try to attack the stegosaurs from the front.
这样的正面冲突的证据十分难得
The evidence for encounters such as these is incredible.