評論
打印
And so Oliver went to work.
于是Oliver開始研究
He systematically examined the fossil
他系統地檢測了化石
looking for even the tiniest differences to dinosaurs in the north.
尋找與北方恐龍的任何一點微小差別
He made many measurements of the bones.
他進行了大量骨骼測量工作
Then he used a computer programme to compare them to other fossils from the Northern Hemisphere and at last he found something.
然后用計算機程序將它們與北半球化石進行比較，最后，他終于有了發現
It was to do with the upper leg bone, the femur.
它是在大腿骨上，也就是股骨
Oliver saw the radioactive dinosaur had a distinctive bulge near the top of the femur,
Oliver發現放射性的恐龍股骨頂部有一個特別的隆起
but when he examined femurs from the Northern Hemisphere, there was no bulge.
而當它分析北半球恐龍的股骨時，卻沒有這個隆起。
It was exactly the kind of tiny anatomical difference he'd been looking for.
這就是他一直苦苦尋找的微小的解剖學差異
So what the analysis of this animal tells us is that obviously the continental break up
這些動物的分析結果表明陸地分離顯然
really had a profound impact on the diversification of the dinosaurs. It was a clear sign.
對恐龍的多樣化有著深遠的影響。這是一個明顯的證據。
Dinosaurs in the south were beginning to evolve separately to those in the north.
南北方恐龍分別開始獨自進化
It was vicariance in action.
這就是地理分隔的作用。
