2022-05-28

科学家们通过结合有关化石的一系列新发现及最新技术，建造出了最先进的原始鸟类头骨模型。这一成果为鸟喙的进化史提供了新解释。

It's well known that birds evolved from dinosaurs1 - gradually growing feathers and taking to the air. But their tiny delicate skulls3 have been difficult to study as they're rarely preserved as fossils.

众所周知，鸟类是由恐龙进化而来的。它们逐渐地长出羽毛并飞向天空。但由于鸟类的头骨微小而纤细，因此很少有保存完好的化石，这使相关研究的展开变得困难。

Now researchers have combined extraordinary new fossil discoveries with the latest CT scanning techniques to make the most advanced 3D model of the skull2 of a primitive4 bird. They say creatures existed for much of the age of the dinosaurs that looked half-bird, half-dinosaur.

现在，研究人员们把令人惊叹的化石新发现和最新电子计算机断层扫描技术结合起来，制作出了最为先进的原始鸟类头骨3D模型。他们说，这类看起来半鸟半恐龙的生物存在于恐龙时代的大部分时期内。

Ichthyornis, which was the size of a seagull, had a beak5 and a brain much like modern birds but the sharp teeth and powerful jaws6 of dinosaurs like Velociraptor. Its bones were first found in the 1870s drawing the attention of Charles Darwin. Modern-day scientists say this amazing