A team of researchers in China recently found a new species of dinosaur, and it might be the oldest link between dinosaurs and modern birds. The paleontologists discovered the 125-million-year-old fossil in Lionaning, China. The ancient animal was three-feet long, covered in feathers, and sported a mouthful of teeth.
在中国，一组研究员最近发现新品种的恐龙，而且牠可能是现代鸟类与恐龙最古老的链接，古生物学家在中国辽宁发现1亿2500万年前的化石。这个古代生物长约三英尺，有羽毛覆盖，而且具有一嘴牙。
The new species has been named Jianianhualong tengi. Scientists announced its discovery in a study published on May 2 in Nature Communications.
这个新品种被命名为Jianianhualong tengi。科学家在一篇于5月2号发表于《Nature Communications》(国际排名第3的混合型期刊)的研究宣告其发现。
Jianianhualong tengi is a type of troodontid, which is a family of bird-like dinosaurs related to the modern-day birds. Researchers are unsure if Jianianhualong tengi could fly. But the well-preserved fossilized remains indicate that it had feathers that were not symmetrical, or longer on one side than the other. This is a key element in the evolution of animal flight.
Jianianhualong tengi是一种伤齿龙科，该科下都是与现代鸟类类似的恐龙。研究人员不确定Jianianhualong tengi是否可以飞行。但是保存完整的化石遗迹指出它具有不对称的、或说其中一边比较长的羽毛。这是动物演化出飞行的关键。
"Asymmetrical feathers have been associated with flight capability, but are also found in species that do not fly, and their appearance was a major event in feather evolution," the authors write in the study.
「不对称羽毛跟飞行能力是有关联的，但是某些不能飞的品种也具有不对称羽毛，而他们的外观是羽毛演化上的重要事件。」该研究的作者写道。
Paleontologists first discovered that dinosaurs sported feathers with the 1861 discovery of the Archaeopteryx, a different type of bird-like dinosaur.
古生物学家在1861年发现Archaeopteryx，其为另一种似鸟恐龙，时首次发现恐龙具有羽毛
But according to the new study, the Jianianhualong tengi “has the earliest known asymmetrical troodontid feathers,” suggesting that dinosaurs may have exhibited bird-like traits earlier than previously believed.
但是根据新研究，Jianianhualong tengi是最早具有不对称伤齿龙羽毛的，代表恐龙可能在原本所知的时间点前就具有类似鸟类的特征。
“It is widely accepted that feather asymmetry is important for the origin of bird flight,” Xu Xing, a paleontologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences who co-led this study, told National Geographic. “And now we can demonstrate that this feature has a wide distribution outside the bird family.”
「羽毛的不对称对鸟类的飞行很重要是广受认同的。」徐星，共同参与这次的研究的中国科学院古生物学家，告诉国家地理：「现在我们可以指出这个特征在鸟类以外也广泛存在。」
Scientists will now study Jianianhualong tengi to learn more about how it used its feathers and try to determine if it could fly or not. That investigation could have a major impact on how scientists think about feathered dinosaurs. Some believe that feathered dinosaurs that could not fly used their plumage to help them get around on the ground. Another potential use could have been to make them more attractive to potential mates.
科学家将开始研究Jianianhualong tengi 以了解更多有关它如何使用他的羽毛并试图决定他是否能飞。这项调查对科学家对有羽毛的恐龙的想法造成具大的冲击。有些人相信无法飞行的有羽恐龙用羽毛来协助他们在地上移动。另一个潜在的用途可能是羽毛是用以增加对配偶的吸引力。
- plumage /ˈpluː.mɪdʒ/ n. 羽毛
-例句：Male peacocks have beautiful plumage. - 延伸：plum n. 梅子；plumb v. 装水管、探索；plumb adv. 恰好
Jianianhualong tengi and its asymmetrical feathers will help answer those questions and likely pose new ones. Its discovery is a major breakthrough, and it has researchers excited—especially the team that found it.
Jianianhualong tengi 和其不对称的羽毛将帮助解答这些问题，甚至能是出新的见解。它的发现是重大的突破，且使发现它的团队的研究员十分兴奋。
"We expected that somebody might find asymmetrical feathers in a troodontid someday because they have such similar skeletons to birds,” study leader Michael Pittman from the University of Hong Kong told Forbes. “But for it to be us was really wonderful."
「我们期许有天某人或许会发现伤齿龙科不对称的羽毛，因为他们有着跟鸟类极为类似的骨骼。」研究的领导，来自香港大学的迈克皮特曼告诉富比士：「但这个某人是我们真的很棒。」
FROM:TimeForKids
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