2025/05/05 05:30
◎陳成良
Giant prehistoric kangaroos perished when "climate upheaval" turned lush Australian rainforest into desert, scientists said Thursday after studying ancient fossils with new techniques.
科學家週四表示，根據他們利用新技術研究古代化石的結果，當「氣候劇變」將茂密的澳洲雨林轉變為沙漠時，巨型史前袋鼠因此滅絕。
Weighing as much as 170 kilograms (375 pounds) － almost twice as hefty as the chunkiest living kangaroos － the extinct "Protemnodon" bounded across Australia as many as five million years ago.
「Protemnodon」是一種已經滅絕的巨型袋鼠，體重可達170公斤（375磅），幾乎是現存最壯碩袋鼠的2倍，牠們早在500萬年前便曾在澳洲大地上奔馳。
The rainforest started to wither around 300,000 years ago as the region’s climate turned "increasingly dry and unstable".
大約30萬年前，隨著當地氣候變得「日益乾燥且不穩定」，雨林開始逐漸枯萎。
"The giant kangaroos’ desire to stay close to home, during a time of major climate upheaval 300,000 years ago, likely contributed to their demise," the researchers said.
研究人員表示：「在30萬年前氣候劇烈變動期間，巨型袋鼠傾向留在棲地附近活動，這可能成為牠們滅絕的原因之一。」
新聞辭典
perish：動詞，死亡、喪生（尤指意外、暴力或災難中的死亡）。例句：Many soldiers perished in the freezing conditions during the war.（許多士兵在戰爭期間嚴寒的環境中喪生。）
bound：動詞，跳躍移動；跳著跑（如袋鼠、鹿等動物在野外快速地跳躍行進）。例句：The kangaroo bounded across the open plain with powerful leaps.（袋鼠以強而有力的跳躍穿越開闊的平原。）
英倫翻譯轉自 https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1705056
