史前星球（2022）

冬天带来了长达数月的严寒
winter brings months of freezing temperatures.
在这里 成为一个家庭的一份子 也会有好处
Here, too, being part of a family brings benefits.
热感摄像机捕捉到一堆发光的躯体
A thermal camera reveals a huddle of glowing bodies.
那是强战龙
Imperobator.
一种猎手
Hunters.
与大多数恐龙一样 它们是温血动物
Like most dinosaurs, they are warm-blooded.
然而 为了保持温暖 它们需要大量食物
But to stay warm, they need a lot of food.
因此 如果可能 它们需要每隔几天就进行一次猎杀
So they must make a kill every few days if they can.
新落的雪掩盖了它们的脚步声
Fresh snow muffles the sound of their footsteps,
使得它们能在不被发现的情况下 穿过森林寻找猎物
enabling them to move undetected through the forest in search of prey.
一只莫罗龙
A Morrosaurus.
对于这种植食动物来说 冬天是一段艰难的时光
A plant eater for whom winter is inevitably a very hard time.
强战龙专门捕猎这种猎物
Imperobators specialize in hunting such prey.
虽然莫罗龙跑得比追击者快
The Morrosaurus is faster than its pursuers.
但它寡不敌众
But it's outnumbered by the pack.
强战龙有羽毛的长尾巴 赋予了它们卓越的机动性
The Imperobators' long-feathered tails give them remarkable maneuverability.
它们已经追捕到森林的边缘
The chase has reached the very edge of the forest.
旁边是一片0.8公里宽的冰湖
Beyond lies a frozen lake, half a mile wide.
速度更快的莫罗龙在空旷的空间更具优势
The clear, open space could give the faster Morrosaurus an advantage.
但冰冻的湖面也充满危险
But the frozen surface is treacherous.
随着强战龙的逼近 莫罗龙别无选择 只能冒险穿越冰湖
With the Imperobator closing in, it isn't much of a choice.
摔了一跤
A misplaced step.
这给了莫罗龙逃脱猎食者追捕的机会
A chance for the Morrosaurus to sprint beyond the predators' reach.
但这里是一个岛屿
But this is an island,
猎手和猎物几乎注定会再次相遇
so hunters and hunted will almost certainly meet again.
有些岛屿很小
Some islands are so small
没有大型陆地动物居住
that they have no large land-living residents.
然而这些岛上仍然会迎来一些访客
But they may, nonetheless, get visitors.
一只雄性哈特兹哥翼龙
Hatzegopteryx.
叼着一个18公斤重的 特提斯鸭嘴龙尸体来到了这里
This male has arrived carrying a 40-pound Tethyshadros carcass.
这是它最近狩猎的战利品
A prize from a recent hunt.
拥有4.6米的身高和超过9米翼展的 哈特兹哥翼龙
He is 15 feet tall, with a wingspan of over 30 feet.
是欧洲的顶级掠食者
Hatzegopteryx are Europe's top predators.
但这只雄性来到这里 是为了展现它性格的另一面
But this male has come here to reveal another side to his character.
它在进行求偶表演 让任何从上空经过的雌性清楚地知道
He has constructed a display to make it clear to any females passing overhead
它在寻找配偶
that he is looking for a mate.
然而 它可能要等待相当长的时间 才能得到回应
But he might have a very long wait before he gets a response.
终于来了一只雌性
At last. A female.
看起来很感兴趣
She seems interested,
不过 再多一点说服力也许很有必要
but a little more persuasion might be necessary.
它必须小心翼翼
And he needs to be careful.
不要被雌性啄到
One well-aimed peck from her beak
否则它的整个交♥配♥季节就会结束
could quickly bring his whole mating season to an end.
它的求偶表演必须证明自己有良好的基因
His display must demonstrate that he has the good genes
这样它的后代继承这些基因便能茁壮成长
that her young would do well to inherit.
这只死去的恐龙表明它是个出色的猎手
The dead dinosaur suggests that he's a good hunter
而能将尸体带到这里 证明了它是一名飞行能手
and carrying it here has proved that he's a strong flyer.
尽管如此 雌性还没有表现出被打动的迹象
But if she is impressed, she isn't showing it yet.
现在是时候拿出新的证据 来证明它的实力了
Time to produce some new evidence of his eligibility.
抬头邀请雌性靠近
Head lifts invite her to come closer.
现在 雌性给予了它一些鼓励
Now, she gives him a little encouragement.
一场同步的舞蹈在它们之间建立了信任
A synchronized dance creates trust between them.
突然 又来了一只雄性
Another male.
虽然新的雄性要年轻得多 但仍可能是对手
He's much younger, but he could still be a rival.
它成功将对手赶走
That's him dealt with.
但不幸的是 雌性也已离开
Disaster. The female has left.
它可能已经失去了这次机会
He may have lost his chance.
但雌性又回来了
She's back.
赶走潜在对手似乎为它加分了
Seeing off a potential rival might even be another point in his favor.
它继续之前的舞蹈
He continues from where he left off.
最后一次证明自己的力量
One last reminder of his strength.
交♥配♥是它作为父亲唯一的贡献
And this is his only contribution to fatherhood.
虽然只持续了几秒钟
It's all over in just a few seconds.
但这标志着下一代巨型飞行猎手的开始
But it's the start of the next generation of these giant flying hunters.
这样的小岛屿虽然微不足道
Islands like this may only be small,
但它们与世界上无数其他岛屿一样
but like countless others around the world,
见证了史前星球上
they bear witness to crucial moments
一些最不寻常生物生命的
in the lives of some of the most unusual creatures
关键时刻
on the Prehistoric Planet.
(揭秘《Prehistoric Planet》)
(巨型翼龙真的能在地面上狩猎吗 )
在恐龙时代
During the time of the dinosaurs,
天空被称为翼龙的飞行爬行动物所主宰
the skies were dominated by flying reptiles called pterosaurs.
超过250个品种的翼龙在空中翱翔
There were over 250 species...
其中一些体型巨大
and some of them were enormous.
最有趣且最奇特的翼龙之一
One of the most interesting, because they're the most bizarre,
是神龙翼龙
are the azhdarchid pterosaurs.
(古生物学家兼考古学家 马克维顿博士)
试图描述
And to try and describe
神龙翼龙的外貌 确实颇有难度
what an azhdarchid pterosaur is like is very difficult.
它们的身高如同长颈鹿
They stand as tall as giraffes.
头部可能长达两米
They've got heads that may have been two meters long,
翼展更是长达10米
wingspans of ten meters.
它们堪称地球上演化出的 最奇特的生物之一
They're some of the most bizarre things who've ever evolved on Earth.
尽管体型庞大 这些巨兽却非常擅长飞行
Despite their size, these giants were well-adapted for flight.
那么 为什么我们会认为 它们在地面上捕猎呢
So why do we think they hunted on the ground?
神龙翼龙的翅膀是一层皮肤黏膜
The azhdarchid's wing is a skin membrane
(首席科学顾问 达伦奈什博士)
完全由超大的无名指支撑
supported entirely by a superenlarged fourth finger.
(神龙翼龙翼展)
这层皮肤黏膜从巨大的无名指的尖端
This skin membrane extended from the tip of that giant fourth finger
一直延伸到后腿的顶部
all the way to the top of the hind leg.
神龙翼龙非常适合长途飞行
Azhdarchids were supremely adapted for covering great distance,
但它们并不是那种在飞行中扭动 旋转
but they weren't the kind of animals that were twisting and turning
做出敏捷动作的动物
and making agile movements actually in flight.
这使得神龙翼龙很难捕捉
This would've made it hard for azhdarchids
其他会飞的动物
to catch other flying animals.
它们一定采用了不同的捕猎方式
They must have had a different way to hunt.
关于神龙翼龙可能如何进食的 最流行观点之一是
One of the most prevalent ideas about how azhdarchid pterosaurs may have fed
使用这种被称为撇食的奇怪觅食机制
is by using this bizarre mechanism of foraging known as skim feeding.
现代鸟类 如黑剪嘴鸥 就是这样觅食的
Today, birds like black skimmers feed in this way.
这可能是你能想象到的最荒谬的捕食方式
It's the most ridiculous way of getting your food you can imagine.
它实际上是将下颚推入水中
It's literally pushing your lower jaw through the water
与食物发生碰撞
and crashing into your food.
剪嘴鸥的颈部是为了 吸收突然撞击而演化出来的
A skimmer's neck is built to absorb sudden impacts.
但化石显示神龙翼龙没有进化出这些特性
But fossils reveal azhdarchids had none of these adaptations.
事实上 它们几乎肯定会因为
In fact, they would almost certainly break their necks from just the strain
试图将下颚推入水中而折断脖子
of trying to push their lower jaws through the water.
神龙翼龙别无选择
An azhdarchid had no option.
只能上岸觅食
It must have landed to find food.
但问题是 它真的能走得足够快去捕猎吗
But could it really walk fast enough to hunt?
科学家们需要确凿的证据来证明
Scientists needed evidence to persuade them
除了蹒跚行走以外 神龙翼龙还能胜任更多
that they could do anything more than just waddle.
这一证据来自六千六百万年前的脚印
That evidence comes from 66-million-year-old footprints.
世界上最大的翼龙脚印是由一只
The biggest pterosaur track in the world was made
行走的神龙翼龙所留下
by a walking giant azhdarchid.
这不仅是一件很酷的事情
That's not only a cool thing to have,
同时也为我们揭示了 关于这种生物高效行走的诸多信息
it tells us an awful lot about how efficient they were at walking.
(韩国)
这些足迹表明
These tracks show
它们把四肢放在身体正下方
they held their limbs directly under their body,
保持直立姿态
giving them an upright stance.
它们有脚垫
Their feet were padded.
与小型翼龙不同
And unlike the small pterosaurs,
神龙翼龙的长腿 使它们能够迈出巨大的步伐
their long legs gave them an enormous stride.
尽管神龙翼龙的外形相当奇特
Although azhdarchids are peculiar-looking animals,
但它们的行动却极具效率
they're moving very efficiently.
神龙翼龙将其卓越的地面行走能力
Azhdarchids combined this competent terrestrial walking ability
与巨大的鹳状长脸相结合
with this massive long stork-like face.
我们几乎可以确定
They almost certainly were predators
它们是四处行走 捕食下方动物的掠食者
that walked around reaching down to grab animals.
然而 我们必须牢记
We have to remember, though,
这种生物的喉咙有半米宽
the throat size of this thing is half a meter wide.