史前星球（2022）

这些就是蛇颈龙
These are tuarangisaurs,
是一种巨大的海洋爬行动物 身长近9米
a type of huge marine reptile nearly 30 feet long.
这只雌性蛇颈龙 和它大约六个月大的幼崽在一起
This female is accompanied by her calf, about six months old.
它最多每两年左右才能生一只幼崽
At most, she'll have only one youngster every two years or so.
这是一个巨大的投入
It's a huge investment,
这让母子间的感情变得非常重要
and one that makes the bond between mother and young very important.
它带着幼崽游了很远才来到这个海湾
She has brought her young calf many miles to this one bay.
而它们并不孤单
And they're not alone.
蛇颈龙从南太平洋的彼岸来到这里
Tuarangisaurs come here from across the South Pacific.
雄性蛇颈龙也会聚集于此 为吸引雌性而进行求偶表演
Males also gather here to display to females.
但现在 求爱并不是 雌性蛇颈龙的首要任务
But for now, courtship is not the female's first priority.
这个海湾能为它们提供 其他海湾无法提供的东西
This bay has something that few others can provide.
这里的鹅卵石特别圆 光滑 坚硬
Pebbles that are particularly smooth, hard, and rounded.
它们是被河水冲刷成这样 但这种鹅卵石很难找到
They've been worn by the action of river water, but they're hard to find.
然而 在这里瀑布底部的水池里
Here, however, in the pool at the bottom of a waterfall,
有很多这样的鹅卵石
there are plenty of them.
蛇颈龙可以随意挑选
And the tuarangisaurs can take their pick.
然后它们会做一件非常了不起的事情
They then do something rather remarkable.
它们会把这些石头通通吞下
They swallow them.
它们需要这些石头来作为压载物和砂囊石
They need the stones to act both as ballast and as gizzard stones.
胃石会留在它们的胃里
Gastroliths which will remain in their stomachs
磨碎未咀嚼的食物
to grind up their unchewed food.
对于幼年蛇颈龙来说
For a youngster,
第一次学习吞鹅卵石可不是件容易事
learning to swallow pebbles for the first time isn't easy.
这需要一点练习
It takes a little practice.
但这也是它妈妈 在雄蛇颈龙中找到合适配偶的机会
But it's also a chance for his mother to find a suitable mate amongst the males.
小蛇颈龙终于成功了
For the calf, at last, success.
现在 它会吞下尽可能多的鹅卵石
Now, he will swallow as many as he can.
等它长大后 它会再回来这里 吞更多的鹅卵石
And, as he grows, he'll return here for more.
这一家人是时候离开这个海岸
It's time for the family to leave the coast
回到海里去觅食了
and head back out to sea to feed.
对于年幼的蛇颈龙来说
And for the young tuarangisaur,
这是迈向成年的重要一步
that is an important step on the road to adulthood.
在南欧
In southern Europe,
大西洋和大特提斯海交汇的地方
where the Atlantic meets the great Tethys Sea,
沿海生物的多样性也许达到了最高程度
coastal life reaches perhaps its greatest diversity.
不断上升的海平面 意味着有无数被淹没的岛屿
Rising sea level means that there are countless submerged islands
上面布满了海绵 蛤蜊和珊瑚
covered with sponges, clams and corals.
珊瑚充分利用这些浅滩的阳光
Corals take advantage of the sunshine in these shallows,
与生长在它们组织内的藻类合作
forming partnerships with algae that grow within their tissues.
它们收集洋流中漂浮的食物微粒
They collect tiny particles of food floating in the ocean currents.
无数的海洋生物包裹在坚硬的岩石上
Myriads of these marine creatures encrust the solid rock.
但这里有一块岩石看起来格外光秃
But one rock here appears surprisingly bare.
这块石头之外是陡峭的悬崖和深海
Beyond is a sheer drop-off and the deep sea,
是海洋捕食者的家园
home to oceanic predators…
也是没有警惕性的珊瑚礁鱼的危险之地
and danger for unwary reef fish.
但这条重齿目鱼没什么好怕的
But this pycnodont fish has little to fear.
这是霍夫曼沧龙 是海洋中最致命的掠食者
This is Hoffman's mosasaur, the ocean's deadliest predator.
但它不是来这里用餐的 而是来洗澡
But he's not here to eat. He's come to be cleaned.
沧龙是一种巨型蜥蜴 拥有蜥蜴分叉的舌头
Mosasaurs are giant lizards and have both a lizard's forked tongue,
还有着蜥蜴在交♥配♥季节时的彩色外皮
and during the mating season, a lizard's colorful skin.
现在是褪去旧皮的时候了
Now it's time to shed old skin.
当你想让自己看起来焕然一新
And when you need to look your best,
只有全身磨砂能帮上忙
nothing but an all-over body scrub will do.
鱼虾啄掉它身上脱落的鳞片
Fish and shrimp pick scales shed from his body.
浮出水面小憩可以让这只 在海中遨游的蜥蜴
Resting at the surface allows this sea-going, air-breathing lizard
呼吸新鲜空气
to fill his lungs,
和放松
and relax.
敌人来了
A rival.
一只年轻的雄性霍夫曼沧龙 来争夺这块领地
A younger male, challenging for this territory.
年长的沧龙超过15吨♥ 比年轻的更重一些
The old male is heavier, over 15 tons.
但它的对手则更灵活
But his rival is more nimble.
当它们势均力敌的时候 这场战斗必将拼个你死我活
When they are as evenly matched as this, these battles can be lethal.
人们发现的有些沧龙头骨里
Mosasaurs have been found with the shattered teeth of rivals
嵌着对手破碎的牙齿
embedded in their skulls.
年长的雄性沧龙快速喘了口气
The old male snatches a breath.
现在它占了上风
Now he has the advantage.
它将对手拖下水深处 就能淹死它
By dragging his rival down, he could drown him.
最终年长的雄性沧龙获胜了
The old male has triumphed.
至少在当下 这片暗礁仍是它的领地
For now, at least, this reef is still his territory.
北美海岸附近挂着一弯新月
A crescent moon off the coast of North America.
随之而来平静而黑暗的夜晚 会触发一场罕见的美丽事件
The calm, dark nights that follow trigger a rare and beautiful event.
今夜 即使是在大海深处也有了光亮
Tonight, even in the deep, there is light.
闪着光的菊石从海底深渊中升起
Glowing ammonites rise from the abyss.
菊石是软体动物 与章鱼和鱿鱼有亲缘关系
Ammonites are mollusks, related to octopus and squid.
这些船菊石还没有人的手掌大
These scaphitids are no bigger than a human hand.
数周以来 它们一直在沿海深处聚集
For weeks, they've been gathering in the coastal depths.
在深海处 它们可以用这些光 把浮游生物吸引来当食物
In the deep, these lights may help lure plankton as food.
但在今晚 这些光发挥了不同的作用
But tonight, they serve a different purpose.
它们被吸引到水面上进行交♥配♥
They've been drawn to the surface to mate.
很快 每个鱼群中就有数千只船菊石
And soon there are thousands in each shoal.
它们互相触碰 制♥造♥出 一片片生物光的波浪
Neighbor triggers neighbor, creating waves of bioluminescence.
它们有复杂的神经系统
They have complex nervous systems,
控制着制♥造♥亮光的细胞 也叫做发光细胞
controlling light-producing cells called photocytes.
雄性船菊石 在较大的雌船菊石周围争抢位置
The males jostle for a place around the larger females.
让雌性从雄性的求偶表演中 看出谁才是最合适交♥配♥的最好伴侣
Clues from their displays tell her who is the fittest and who is the best mate.
当情侣们纠缠在一起时 它们会共同进行灯光表演
As couples entwine, they coordinate their light displays.
如果雄船菊石跟不上雌船菊石的节奏 它的求偶就会被拒绝
If he can't match her precise rhythm, he'll be rejected.
但也有完美的同步
But there is perfect synchrony.
这一对菊石现在将产卵 并帮助生产下一代
This pair will now spawn and help produce the next generation.
受精后
After fertilization,
雌船菊石会进入浅水区产卵
the females enter the shallows to release their eggs.
和大多数头足类动物一样
As with most cephalopods,
繁殖是它们短暂生命中最后一个篇章
breeding is the final act of their short lives.
到了早晨 这些亮光会变弱 然后熄灭
By morning, these lights will have flickered and died.
这个神奇的夜晚将是它们生命的最后一晚
This magical night will be their last.
在整个地球上 海岸对动物来说 是一个理想的地方
All over the globe, the coast provides an ideal place
无数动物在海岸交♥配♥ 养育后代及捕食
for countless animals to mate, raise their young, and to feed.
回到西兰蒂亚的浅海中
Back in the shallow waters of Zealandia,
大群的蛇颈龙聚集在一起
large groups of tuarangisaurs have come together.
凭借四个龙鳍的推动 它们几乎毫不费力地前进
They propel themselves with all four fins and travel almost effortlessly
找到了夏天聚集在这里的鱼群
to find the fish shoals that gather here in summer.
它们会时不时冲出水面大口吸气
Occasionally, they break the surface to gulp air
然后再继续潜入水下前进
before continuing on their underwater flight.
但有一只雌蛇颈龙 没有像往常那样优雅地游泳
But one female is not swimming with her usual grace.
它和两岁大的幼崽落在了蛇颈龙群的后面
She and her two-year-old calf are lagging behind the rest of the group.
她移♥动♥得相当吃力
She's moving rather laboriously.
这个情况并没有被忽视
And that has not gone unnoticed.
一个致命猎手巨型海蜥蜴出现了
A deadly hunter, Kaikaifilu.
这只明显身体不适的雌性蛇颈龙 是一个诱人的目标
The apparently stricken female is a tempting target.
潜入更深的水域可能会让它不那么脆弱
Diving to deeper water might make her less vulnerable.
对幼崽来说 试图分散沧龙的注意力 是一个危险游戏
For the calf, trying to distract the mosasaur is a dangerous game.
但这是在为母亲争取时间
But it's buying time.
母亲和幼崽不完全是孤立无援
The mother and calf are not entirely alone.
这些动物之间也许有血缘关系
These individuals may be related,
把巨型海蜥蜴赶走对它们都有好处
and it's in all their interests to drive Kaikaifilu away.
这就是这只雌性蛇颈龙明显痛苦的原因
This is the reason for the female's apparent distress.
它怀孕了
She's pregnant.
而现在 在怀孕一年半之后
And now, after a one-and-a-half year pregnancy,
宝宝终于被生了下来
a baby.
它身长超过3米 几乎是它母亲身长的一半
Over ten feet long, nearly half the length of its mother.
真的是史上最大的婴儿之一
One of the biggest babies of all time.
它需要到水面上去 进行出生后的第一次呼吸
It needs to get to the surface to take its very first breath.
这只幼年蛇颈龙能活80年
This young tuarangisaur could live for 80 years.
现在在家族的支持下
Now, supported by her family,
它可以作为一个掠食者
she can take her place as a predator…
生活在地球上最富饶的栖息地之一
in one of the richest habitats on Earth,
我们这个史前星球海岸周围的海洋里
the seas around the coasts of our prehistoric planet.
《Prehistoric Planet》下集预告
Next on Prehistoric Planet,
巨型恐龙在炙热的沙漠中 为了争夺伴侣而搏斗
giant dinosaurs wrestle to win a mate in baking-hot deserts.