從哪裡能看到世界上最大的恐龍（身長好似一個籃球場）

2023-07-29 01:14:41 1

據美國媒體報導，澳大利亞近日發現一種新的恐龍物種。這一恐龍據信是該國發現的最大恐龍，也是世界上最大的恐龍之一。

A new species of dinosaur discovered in Australia has been confirmed as the largest ever found in the country, and one of the biggest in the world.

其實這一恐龍骨架很早就被發現了，但長期以來，大家都不知道它是什麼，還給它起了一個名字，叫Cooper，因為發現它的地方是昆士蘭州西南部一個叫Cooper Creek的地方發現的。

The fossilized skeleton, nicknamed "Cooper," was found in southwest Queensland in 2007, at Cooper Creek in the Eromanga Basin. But the skeleton remained a mystery for years, and has only now been scientifically described and named by paleontologists.

科學家現在確認它是一種恐龍，並將其命名為Australotitan cooperensis，並認為這種恐龍生活在9000多萬年前。

這隻恐龍的臀部有5至6.5米高，長度為25至30米，所以身高估計有兩層樓稿，身長好似一個籃球場。

Researchers at the Eromanga Natural History Museum (ENHM) and the Queensland Museum published their findings in the PeerJ scientific journal on Monday.

"Cooper," whose scientific name is Australotitan cooperensis, is estimated to have walked the Earth over 90 million years ago. It was a titanosaur -- a plant-eating species belonging to the family of long-necked sauropods, the largest of the dinosaur species.

The dinosaur is estimated to have reached a height of 5 to 6.5 meters (16.4 to 21.3 feet) at the hip, and a length of 25 to 30 meters (82 to 98.4 feet) -- making it as long as a basketball court and as tall as a two-story building, the ENHM said.

titanosaur：泰坦巨龍

sauropod：蜥腳類恐龍

因為這個恐龍化石太大，所以這些骨頭被分散地放在了博物館裡。

因此，研究小組使用3D技術來掃描每一塊骨頭，以數字方式將其與類似物種的骨頭進行比較。

The enormous size of the bones meant they were stored in museums often hundreds of miles away from each other.

So the team used 3D technology to scan each bone of the titanosaur, which allowed them to digitally compare the bones to those of similar species.

澳大利亞專家認為，這將擴大恐龍的研究版圖，增加了澳大利亞在研究古生物領域的地位。

（英語是多麼愛用被動語態，這一點你發現了嗎？）