中國科學家琥珀中發現恐龍標本 這事有多牛X
Dinosaurs had feathered, chestnut brown tails with a pale underside, a newly found specimen reveals.
新近發現的標本表明，恐龍有覆着羽毛的慄褐色尾巴，且其尾巴底面是淺色的。
The tip of the tail was found in an ancient blob of amber tree resin.
恐龍尾巴的末端是在一塊年代久遠的琥珀樹脂中發現的。
The amber was discovered by Dr Lida Xing from the China University of Geosciences at an amber market in Myanmar in 2015.
2015年，中國地質大學的邢立達博士在緬甸的一個琥珀市場上發現了這塊琥珀。
It was initially thought to be plant remains and was destined to become a piece of jewellery until Xing rescued it.
最初，這塊琥珀被當成一塊植物化石，直到邢教授“解救”了它，才擺脫被製作成一件珠寶的命運。
The tail belonged to a small, flightless dinosaur that lived in the mid-Cretaceous period around 99 million years ago.
這條尾巴屬於9900萬年前生活在白堊紀中期的一隻不會飛的小恐龍。
And the rare find sheds light on the evolution of feathers from dinosaurs to modern birds, which cannot be gleaned from normal fossil remains.
這個罕見的發現說明了，從恐龍到現代鳥類，羽毛在其身上的演化，而從普通化石中則無法得出這樣的結論。
The incredible discovery reveals the feathered tail of a non-avian theropod that perished approximately 99 million years ago.
這項驚人的發現展示了一隻非鳥類的獸腳亞目恐龍覆着羽毛的尾巴，而這隻恐龍在9900萬年前就滅亡了。
Dr Ryan McKellar, Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Canada, said: 'The new material preserves a tail consisting of eight vertebrae from a juvenile. These are surrounded by feathers.’
加拿大薩斯喀徹溫省皇家博物館館長、無脊椎動物古生物學博士賴安·麥凱勒表示，“保存尾巴的新材料中有一隻幼年恐龍的8節椎骨。且這些椎骨被羽毛所包圍。”
'We can be sure of the source because the vertebrae are not fused into a rod or pygostyle as in modern birds and their closest relatives.’
“我們可以相信這種信息來源，因爲這些椎骨沒有像現代鳥類及其親緣動物那樣融合成一根或一節尾綜骨。”
'Instead, the tail is long and flexible, with keels of feathers running down each side.'
“而且，這條尾巴又長又柔韌，且順着尾巴的每一面，羽毛的骨架逐漸減少。”
Dr McKellar added that the feathers are definitely those of a dinosaur and not a prehistoric bird.
麥凱勒博士補充道，這些羽毛一定源自一隻恐龍而不是一隻史前鳥類。
'Amber pieces preserve tiny snapshots of ancient ecosystems, but they record microscopic details, three-dimensional arrangements, and tissues that are difficult to study in other settings,' Dr McKellar said.
麥凱勒博士指出，“這塊琥珀保存了古代生態系統的簡況，但它們也記錄了其微小細節和立體構造，以及很難在其他背景下研究到的動物組織。”
'This is a new source of information that is worth researching with intensity and protecting as a fossil resource.'
“這是一種新的信息來源，值得進行大量的研究，也應將其作爲一種化石資源保護起來。”
He hopes future finds from the region 'will reshape our understanding of plumage and soft tissues in dinosaurs and other vertebrates.'
他希望，未來在這個領域裏的發現“將改變我們對鳥類羽毛以及恐龍和其他脊椎動物軟組織的理解。”
