与巨兽同行（2005）

In the last episode of Walking with Monsters,
上集,我们最早的鱼类祖先
our earliest fish ancestors escaped their armoured enemies,
成功避开节肢动物的追捕
the Arthropods.
它们进化出四肢和肺
They evolved legs and lungs and took their first steps onto land.
首次闯进陆地
But not far enough from the perils of the water.
但它们仍未能进入内陆
现在两栖祖先又再走前一大步
Now our amphibian ancestors have made another huge leap forward.
它们进化成最早的爬虫动物
They've evolved into the first reptiles.
但它们会遇到另一些巨人
But they will face other giants.
这班巨人视草地为家
Monsters who consider this their turf.
The war for the world has moved on to dry land.
陆地成了竞逐场
The Arthropods are back.
节肢动物终于回来
Three hundred million years ago
三亿年前,森林覆盖着整个地球
much of the Earth was covered in vast swamp forests.
那时跟现在完全不同
Here, nothing is as it seems.
看似是五十米高的大树
The fifty metre giants towering above this water world may look like trees,
but they're actually distant relatives of ferns.
原来只是羊齿植物的远亲
空气亦非常古怪
Even the air is alien.
超过三份之一是氧气
Over a third is oxygen.
是地球史上,含氧量最高的时期
Much higher than at any time in history.
大气层内,丰富的氧气
This oxygen rich atmosphere has fuelled the growth of new,
有助超巨型的节肢动物生长
super sized Arthropod predators.
这种中突蛛亚目蜘蛛
This Mesothelae spider is the size of a human head.
体型有人类的头部般大
若今日仍然生存,大概会以猫为食物
She'd be hunting cats if she were alive today.
She's an ambush predator.
它爱伏击
而基地就在它的地下总部之内
Operating from her underground headquarters.
它藏身洞穴,躲在蜘蛛线后
Safe in her borrow,
she rests her feet on carefully constructed trip lines.
蜘蛛线助它感受震荡
These allow her to pick up vibrations from the outside world.
爬虫科类的油页岩蜥
Reptile,
Petrolacosaurus is hunting on the forest floor.
正在地面觅食
它跟我们的两栖祖先不同
Unlike our amphibian ancestors,
身上布满鳞片,藉以锁住水份
he has tough scaly skin which traps moisture inside his body.
这对所有陆地栖身的动物都很重要
Vital for all land dwellers.
Because he doesn't dry out in the sun,
因为被太阳晒干
he can venture away from water.
它可以远离水域
But that means encountering new predators.
亦代表会遇上新的敌人
爬虫成功逃过蜘蛛追捕
The reptile outruns the spider.
He's evolved a complex heart,
它的心脏复杂,比敌人的有效得多
much more efficient than his enemy's.
那是人类心脏的样板
In fact the template for our own.
它将血液和氧气
It's a powerful pump that pushes blood and oxygen around his body to his muscles,
泵至全身各块肌肉
从而可以不用休息,高速行走
so he can run at high speed without stopping for a rest.
This time though he's trapped inside a log.
但这一次它被树木困住
蜘蛛的利爪阻碍了推进
At first the spider's armour stops her squeezing in.
但它不会轻易放弃
But she's not going to give up so easily.
中突蛛亚目蜘蛛返回巢穴
Back in her lair,
Mesothelae will inject her victim with digestive juices
将消化液体注入猎物体内
并将对方溶解
to dissolve him from inside.
除捕猎者外,沼泽还有其他危险
There are other dangers in the swamp apart from predators.
水位会突然转变
The water levels can change rapidly.
潮涨了
They've risen.
The spider drags her dinner home, but something's wrong.
蜘蛛将胜利品带回家
但有事情发生
Her headquarters are flooding.
它的总部出现洪水
它要即时撤退
She'll have to evacuate.
She can't dig, so she'll have to find another hole she can adapt.
它不会挖掘,所以要找另一个洞栖息
但离开洞穴,会遇到更巨型的狩猎者
And once outside, she's vulnerable to larger predators.
这是可怕的蜻蜓
Meganeurid is a monster dragon fly,
它是这一片天空的皇后
queen of the carboniferous skies.
翼展接近一米,体型有鹰般大
With a wing span of almost a metre,
she's the size of an eagle with an appetite to match.
胃口亦大得很
天空之内,它几乎无敌
High above her carboniferous kingdom,
normally she's invincible.
但麻烦慢慢靠近
But trouble's brewing.
The flood below is due to an approaching storm.
暴风雨造成洪水
而注满氧气的大气层
The super oxygenated atmosphere,
which has helped fuel the growth of the insects,
虽然有助昆虫生长
the Arthropods, is highly volatile.
但易燃性极高
一次闪电就足以引发大爆♥炸♥
A lightning strike could trigger an explosion.
The clock is ticking for the swamp.
沼泽的计时炸♥弹♥已经启动
The rising water levels suit one group of hunters.
水位上升对某些动物很有利
它们是两栖类动物
Amphibians.
过去六千万年来,它们不断生长
They've continued thriving over the last sixty million years.
但细薄的皮肤驱使下
Their thin skin still restrict them to the water's edge,
它们被迫困在水域附近
不过它们已进化出具破坏性的下颚
but they're now powerful predators with a devastating pair of jaws,
准备伏击所有走过的动物
ready to ambush anything that wanders within reach.
The homeless spider tries her luck further inland.
无家可归的蜘蛛继续向内陆进发
但其他中突蛛亚目蜘蛛
But other Mesothelae fill the forest floor
却不愿与它分享家园
and they don't like to share.
Neither does Arthropleura.
节胸科动物亦一样
它是现代千足蛇的远亲
He's a distant relative of modern millipedes,
有私家车般长
but as long as a car.
He can rear up, tall enough to look you right in the eye.
若它竖起身子,可以与你对望
虽然它是素食者
Although he's vegetarian,
但强而有力的下颚
his strong jaws could still deliver a nasty bite.
就能将你咬得痛不欲生
With rising waters,
随着水位上升
猎物把它带到一处危险的地域
Arthropleura's foraging leads him into dangerous territory.
In this clash of the titans,
遇上这类敌人
节胸动物就得用上防护装甲
the Arthropod's armour is his best defence.
除非装甲被敌人切开
Unless it gets split.
它的内脏足以让敌人饱餐一顿
Impaled, his soft innards provide a feast.
闪电开始,而且愈来愈近
The lightning storm is building, moving ever closer.
恰巧,蜘蛛找到了另一个居所
Just in time, the spider finds another hole.
它赶走油页岩蜥
A Petrolacosaurus is evicted,
但爬虫类根本不用藏在洞穴
but reptiles don't need burrows to avoid danger,
它们的速度已足够让它们脱离危险
they have speed and stamina on their side.
Meanwhile, the spider starts to turn the hole into a hunter's lair.
这时,蜘蛛将洞穴变成陷阱
日落了
Night falls.
中突蛛亚目蜘蛛
And Mesothelae settles into her new silk-lined home
在丝制家园安顿下来
它测试新建的蜘蛛线
She tests the new trip lines.
并探测出一丝震动
They're already picking up vibrations from outside.
暴风雨来到了
The storm is very close now.
闪电燃起了含氧量极高的空气
Lightning strikes ignite the oxygen rich air.
巨型蜻蜓被迫离开冠层
The giant dragonflies are forced down from the canopy to seek shelter below.
到低处躲避
对海上的猎食者而言
An unexpected windfall for the water predators.
真是意外之财
忏乱之中
Amid the chaos,
Mesothelae seems safe in her bunker underground.
中突蛛亚目蜘蛛
在地下室内似乎非常安全
一场由闪电燃起的大火
A huge fire, ignited by lightning,
has devastated Mesothelae's neighbourhood.
将蜘蛛的邻居全部杀死
地面已没有任何生命迹象
There are no signs of life above ground.
但油页岩蜥从大火中逃脱
However, a Petrolacosaurus managed to outrun the flames.
它慢慢走近蜘蛛的居所
But now he heads right into the spider's lair.
蜘蛛的洞穴是今次闪电的中心
Mesothelae's hole was at the centre of the lightning strike.
The reptile gets a spider barbecue.
爬虫找到了一头烤蜘蛛
巨型虫的时代快将告终
The era of the giant bugs is coming to an end.
天气变得干燥
The climate is drying and the atmosphere is losing oxygen.
大气层的氧气亦逐渐流失
昆虫怪和蜘蛛都无法继续生存
The monster insects and spiders can't survive the change.
但我们那多才多艺
But with their efficient hearts and waterproof skin,
拥有复杂心脏和防水皮肤的祖先
our versatile ancestors flourish in the new dry climate.
又再在干燥天气中茁壮成长
进化又再出现
Evolution takes over.
Lacking restrictive armour
爬虫身上没有阻碍性的装甲
means the reptiles can start to make it big.
体型能肆意增长
肌肉和骨骼亦随之扩大
Their muscles and bones broaden and extend.
Their bodies mushroom into huge new shapes and forms.
进化出巨大的体型
我们的远亲又再跨前一大步
Our distant ancestors have come a long way.
这刻,它们征服了陆地
They've now conquered the land.
地球上最早的巨型爬虫终于出现
The world's first giant reptiles have arrived.
但它们与恐龙并无关系