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Compared with mammals, living members of the crocodile clan have exceptionally boring dentition.
和哺乳動物相比，現存鱷魚家族的成員有著異常無趣的牙列。
From the slender-snouted gharials of India and the nocturnal caimans of South America
從印度的非洲狹吻鱷和南美的夜行凱門鱷
to the saltwater behemoths of the South Pacific, crocodile teeth vary little in morphology.
到南太平洋的鹽水巨獸，鱷魚的牙齒形態變化不大。
All are conical and pointed. Each tooth in an animal's mouth is almost identical to its neighbours—
它們所有類型的牙齒都是圓圓尖尖的。動物嘴里的每顆牙齒幾乎都和它的鄰居一樣—
as befits a group of that feed on a mixture of fish and the occasional careless beast
這群動物以各種魚以及因粗心而偶爾
that strays too close to the shore, or even into the water itself.
離海岸太近或者甚至游到水里去的野獸為食。
This predilection for pointed fangs is not, however, how it has always been.
但對尖牙的這種偏愛并非一直如此。
During the days of the dinosaurs, the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods,
在恐龍時代，侏羅紀和白堊紀，
crocodile-clan members showed extraordinary dental diversity.
鱷魚家族成員的牙齒展現出了非凡的多樣性。
Many of their teeth have proved so bizarre that some palaeontologists have theorised that,
它們的許多牙齒被證明是非常怪異的，以至于一些古生物學家推斷，
far from being carnivorous, these ancient species might have been eating plants.
這些遠古物種根本不是食肉動物，它們可能以植物為食。
A study published this week in Current Biology, by Keegan Melstrom and Randall Irmis at the University of Utah, confirms this.
本周猶他大學的Keegan Melstrom和Randall Irmis在《Current Biology》發表的一項研究證實了這一點。
It also suggests that herbivory evolved in the crocodile clan on several occasions.
該研究還表明鱷魚家族的食草性進化了好幾次。
When trying to work out what ancient animals ate, palaeontologists usually look to modern analogues.
當古生物學家試圖弄清楚古代動物吃什么時，他們通常會參照現代的類似物。
If teeth from an extinct beast match those of a modern species, the two are quite likely to have had similar diets.
如果滅絕動物的牙齒與現代動物的牙齒相匹配，那么這兩種動物很可能有著相似的飲食習慣。
With extinct crocodilians, however, this palaeontological tactic has routinely been stymied
但對于已經滅絕的鱷魚來說，這種古生物學策略經常受到阻礙
because their teeth, which are adorned with many rows of cusps and wrinkled enamel,
因為它們的牙齒上布滿了一排排的牙尖和皺巴巴的牙釉質
look nothing like what is found in the mouths of animals alive today.
看起來一點也不像在今天活著的動物嘴里發現的東西。
This has left the topic of what ancient crocodilians ate very much up for grabs.
這就留下了古代鱷魚吃什么的話題。
Some palaeontologists argue that certain species, such as Simosuchus clarki were vegetarian.
一些古生物學家認為某些種類，如迷你鱷魚是素食動物。
To solve the puzzle Mr Melstrom and Dr Irmis turned to Orientation Patch Count Rotated (OPCR) analysis.
為了解決這個難題，Melstrom和Irmis博士轉向了旋轉定位補丁計數（OPCR）分析。
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