史前星球（2022）

In fact, most hunts fail.
但这里生活着的薄片龙太多
But with so many elasmosaurs living here,
下一次机会很快就会出现
it's not long before there is another opportunity.
借着深色峡谷底的掩护 沧龙可以在没被看到的情况下靠近
Camouflaged against the dark canyon floor, the mosasaur can approach unseen...
等待一只年幼 没经验的猎物
waiting for a young, inexperienced individual.
完美的受害者
The ideal victim.
沧龙攻击猎物的力量如此之大
Mosasaurus can strike their prey with such force
光是撞击就是致命的
that the impact alone can kill.
袭击非常迅速 薄片龙几乎一定是毫无防备的
It's an attack so swift, the elasmosaur almost certainly never saw it coming.
海洋里的生活很危险 不仅仅是因为这些巨兽
Life in the ocean can be dangerous, not only because of giants.
在逃离了礁石水坑的小菊石中
Of the baby ammonites that escaped the rock pools,
在大海中存活几个月的不到百分之一
less than one in a hundred has survived several months at sea.
但这几只格外幸运
But these few have been particularly lucky.
洋流把它们带到了一个非常宜居的地方
Ocean currents have carried them to an ideal place to live:
欧洲海岸线沿岸的海草床
seagrass beds off the coast of Europe.
在这里 各菊石群的大小差异十分惊人
Here, shoals of ammonites occur in a surprising variety of sizes...
什么形状都有
and shapes.
这种长达1.83米的奇怪巨兽叫做杆菊石
This strange, six-foot-long giant is Baculites,
它们在海床附近觅食
which feeds near the seafloor.
尺寸几乎可以与之媲美的
And almost matching it in size,
双菊石 形状像个巨大的回形针
Diplomoceras, shaped like a giant paper clip.
它们都在这里茁壮成长 因为食物充足
They all flourish here, thanks to an abundance of food.
浮游生物 小甲壳类动物 有些菊石甚至吃鱼
Plankton. Small crustaceans. Some even eat fish.
这些小菊石开始形成
These hatchlings are beginning to acquire
成熟后将会拥有的奇特形状
the extraordinary shape they will have when they are mature.
突出的螺旋壳表明 这些是年幼的回角菊石
The protruding spiral identifies them as young Nostoceras.
这些是成年回角菊石
These are adult Nostoceras.
它们喜欢较深水域的海床
They favor the seafloor in deeper waters.
菊石在史前海洋中蓬勃发展
Ammonites have been thriving in these prehistoric oceans
时间几乎长达四亿年
for almost 400 million years.
其品种成千上万
There are thousands of species.
属于曾经存在过的最成功的一类动物
They are one of the most successful groups of animals to have ever lived...
生生不息地活在温暖的温带海洋 甚至是两极最冷的水域
flourishing in the warm, temperate seas and even the coldest waters at the poles.
比如这里 南极洲附近的冻海
Like here, in the frozen sea around the Antarctic.
经过了几乎全黑的一个冬季 低垂的太阳开始化冰
After a winter of near-total darkness, the low sun is beginning to melt the ice...
使得这里可以再次接待 一种巨大的季节性访客
making it accessible once more for a giant seasonal visitor.
莫特纳龙是一种奇怪的薄片龙
Morturneria, a strange type of elasmosaur.
它们是暖血动物
They are warm-blooded,
长着一层厚厚的脂肪来保存身体的热量
with a thick layer of blubber which conserves the heat in their body.
它们是世界上最神秘 最难捉摸的动物之一
They're one of the world's most secretive and elusive animals.
这群龙来自三千多公里外的南美洲
This pod has migrated nearly 2,000 miles from South America
赶在春天来到这里
to arrive here in time for spring.
这是今年出生的小龙第一次遇见海冰
It's the first time this year's calves will have encountered sea ice.
这对呼吸空气的 爬行类动物来说可能是危险的
It can be dangerous for an air-breathing reptile.
它们只能在冰面有破洞的地方换气
They can only grab a breath of air where there are gaps in the ice.
成年龙必须小心地寻找破洞
Adults must navigate carefully to find them,
幼龙必须紧随其后
and the youngsters must stay close.
这些冰冷的水域为这些巨兽 最爱吃的食物提供了极佳的栖息地
These cold waters are an excellent habitat for this giant's favorite food.
极地的泥巴里富含小生物
Polar mud full of small creatures.
每平方米的海床里 可能有成百上千的小型生物
There can be hundreds of tiny animals in every square foot of seafloor.
把能吃的东西和黏糊糊的泥巴分开 是一个挑战
Separating what's edible from the sticky mud is a challenge.
但它们有一种高效的解决方案
But they have a neat solution.
铲到一口泥后 它们会稍微合拢嘴巴
Scooping up a mouthful, they partially close their jaws,
制♥造♥出一个巨大的“筛子”来筛选食物
creating a giant sieve to filter out the food.
只有这种动物演化出了如此用途的牙齿
These are the only animals to have evolved teeth to feed in this way.
莫特纳龙会在这里饱餐整个夏天
The Morturneria will feed here all summer,
直到极地的冬天将海面再次冻结
until the water ices over again in the polar winter.
在温暖的海域 它们会面对其他挑战
In warmer waters, they will face other challenges.
但最足智多谋的动物们总能在史前地球
But the most resourceful animals will always find opportunities
辽阔的大海里找到机会
in the vast oceans of the prehistoric planet.
(揭秘《Prehistoric Planet》)
(沧龙的速度有多快 )
史前地球的陆地由恐龙统治
The lands of the prehistoric planet were ruled by the dinosaurs.
但海洋则被一群大为不同的爬行动物占据
But the seas were dominated by a very different group of reptiles:
沧龙
the mosasaurs.
这就是其中之一的头骨
And this is the skull of one of them.
沧龙是海生蜥蜴
Mosasaurs were seagoing lizards.
可以把它想成 会游泳的 鲸鱼般大小的科莫多龙
Think of a giant, swimming, whale-sized Komodo dragon.
(加州大学 迈克尔哈比博士)
锥形的嘴 粗糙的皮肤 长着四个鳍而不是四肢
Tapered snout, rough skin, four fins instead of normal limbs
长长的尾巴很像上下颠倒的鲨鱼尾
and a long tail that would look a lot like a shark tail but upside down.
这基本上就是沧龙了
That's basically a mosasaur.
最大的是霍夫曼沧龙
The largest was Mosasaurus hoffmanni.
是一种依赖伏击的掠食者
It was an ambush predator.
但它成功的秘诀是什么
But what was the secret of its success?
它们能在你眼前从完全静止状态
They can move from just still, not moving at all
(南加州大学 基尔斯滕福莫索)
瞬间达到极快的速度
to incredible speeds right before your eyes.
在现代世界 诸如鳄鱼的爬行类动物拥有这种能力
In the modern world, we see this ability in reptiles like crocodiles.
它们的肌肉能够提供 多次短促而强大的爆发
Their muscles can deliver short bursts of tremendous power.
鉴于沧龙是爬行类动物 是蜥蜴
Mosasaurus, given that they're reptiles, given that they're lizards,
它们的肌肉可能也有类似的能力
probably had similar capabilities in their muscles.
它们还有一种适应力
They also had another adaptation
也许能增强出其不意的效果
that could increase the element of surprise.
游泳的难点之一是
One of the tricky things about swimming is
你需要一种特殊的动力来快速起动
you need a special kind of dynamic to get out of the gate quickly,
就好比短跑运动员从起跑器上起跑
to do the equivalent of a sprinter's start from the blocks.
达到这一目的的最佳做法 就是把身体弯成月牙形
And one of the best ways of doing that is to bend yourself into a C-shape
然后用身体的一侧去推水
and then push off of the water with the side of your body.
如今的鱼采用这一技巧
Fish today use this technique.
被称为“月牙起动”
Known as a C-start,
它可以让鱼从静止不动 一瞬间加速到全速前进
it allows them to accelerate from a standstill to full speed in an instant.
(速度 加速 秒表)
沧龙可能会做非常相似的动作
Mosasaurs likely were able to do something very similar,
当然 其体型要大得多
but of course at a much grander scale.
那么霍夫曼沧龙这样的巨兽 到底能游多快呢
So, exactly how fast could a giant like Mosasaurus hoffmanni swim?
为了寻找答案 《Prehistoric Planet》 团队委托了一个独特的科学研究
To find out, the Prehistoric Planet team commissioned a unique scientific study.
直到最近都不曾有人真正尝试
Until recently, no one had really attempted to estimate
去详细地估测这些表现数据
these kinds of performance values in detail.
我们是第一批真正试着
Our work is one of the first attempts
把这些动物的能力量化的团队之一
to really put numbers to the abilities of these animals.
研究结果十分惊人
And the results we got from that are really pretty stunning.
(身体长度)
团队计算了四次
The team ran the calculations four times
(12吨♥ 12.8米)
以确保结果正确
to ensure they were correct.
(尾部长度)
四次不同的测试得出了相同的总体结论
All four of the different trials came to the same overall conclusion.
这些动物能够产生巨大的加速度
These animals were able to generate massive accelerations.
这条沧龙游过其体长75%的距离
This mosasaur, it could probably clear 75% of its body length
也许只需一秒
in one single second.
就是说如果那条沧龙离你17米远
That means, if that mosasaur is 17 meters away from you,
一秒后 它就靠近了75%
in one second, it will be 75% closer.
第二秒后 它就会超过你
And in the second second, it would have surpassed you
可能顺便还把你吃掉了
and probably eaten you along the way.
被一条沧龙撞到
Being hit by a Mosasaurus would be
有点像被一辆标准尺寸的半挂卡车撞
a bit like being hit by a full-size semitruck.
先不说之后被咬 光是沧龙的撞击
Just the impact of the animal alone, much less the bite that would follow,
就能立刻杀死很多猎物
would kill a lot of its prey instantly.
沧龙的时速达到48公里
Mosasaurs could reach 30 miles an hour
只需一秒
in as little as one second.
可以说 这就是为什么它们 是有史以来的终极海洋掠食者
This is what makes them, arguably, the ultimate marine predator of all time.