南极洲神奇的“足球”化石

2020-10-31重庆市忠县中学校

疯狂英语·新悦读 2020年10期

关键词：古生物学忠县爬行动物

重庆市忠县中学校姜明

难词探意

1.paleontologist/pælɪɒn'tɒlədʒɪst/n.古生物学者

2.flatten/'flætn/v.（使）变平

3.reptile/'reptaɪl/n.爬行动物

Scientists recently reported an unusual finding:the discovery of the second-largestegg known to exist.The egg,a 68 million-year-old fossil, was found on Seymour Island,off the coast of Antarctica.

The fossil is said to be about the size of a football—without the air inside.It measures around 29 centimeters by 20 centimeters.

Despite the factthat birds and many dinosaurs produced hard-shelled eggs,the Antarctic egg has a soft shell.

“This new egg is the very firstfossilegg from Antarctica,and the largest soft-shelled egg ever discovered,”said Lucas Legendre.He is a paleontologist at the University of Texas at Austin.He was the lead writer of the report published in the journal Nature.

Legendre compared the egg to a football that had lost its air.“One side is flattened,suggesting that is where it came in contact with the sea floor.Its eggshell is very thin,and poorly mineralized,like in the eggs of snakes,”he said.

At the time the egg was made,the only creatures in Antarctica that were large enough to lay it were seagoing reptiles.The discovery of the fossil makes researchers question the idea that these animals only gave birth to live young.

The bones of the mother were not found,so scientists were not able to say which animal laid it.Among the likely creatures to have laid it are species of mosasaurs and plesiosaurs.The former could reach lengths of 15 meters,while the latter could reach lengths of 10 meters,Legendre said.

Mosasaurs and plesiosaurs died off at the same time as the dinosaurs.They disappeared after a small,rocky object,reportedly struck Earth some 66 million years ago.

Scientists from the University of Chile and Chile's Museum of Natural History found the unusual fossil in 2011. “When we arrived at camp,we asked the geologists that accompanied us if they had ever seen anything like it,”said University of Chile paleontology researcher Rodrigo Otero. “Their expression of puzzlement said it all.”

Reading Check

1.What's the feature of the egg compared with other eggs?

A.Its shell is hard.

B.Its shell is soft.

C.It's the largest ever found.

D.It looks like a round football.

2.What do we know about the egg from its flattened side?

A.It's once filled with air.

B.It can reach lengths of 15 meters.

C.It once lay on the sea floor.

D.It disappeared because of dinosaurs.

3.Why is it difficult for scientists to say which animal laid the egg?