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Giant penguins that used to roam the earth 巨型企鵝重現地球

An illustration provided by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows the two penguins. 《美國國家科學院院刊》提供的兩種企鵝插畫 PHOTO: EPA

The two fossils discovered in Peru. 祕魯出土的兩種企鵝化石。 PHOTO: AP

Paleontologists have discovered the fossilized remains of a fearsome new species of penguin that lived on the southern coast of Peru about 36 million years ago.

The ancient bird, Icadyptes salasi, stood 1.5m tall and had a pointed 18cm beak which it probably used to spear its prey.

The now extinct penguin species is one of the largest ever reported and was recovered from the coastal desert of Peru.

Paleontologists also discovered the skull and partial skeleton of a second extinct penguin species, called Perudyptes devriesi, in the same region.

The penguin fossils are among the most complete ever recovered. Paleontologists and students of the penguin lineage had assumed that penguins evolved in colder climates in the Antarctic and in New Zealand and had only moved closer to the equator about 10 million years ago - long after significant global cooling about 34 million years ago.

"We tend to think of penguins as being cold-adapted species," said Julia Clarke, a paleontologist and assistant professor of marine, Earth and atmospheric sciences at North Carolina State University, in Raleigh.

But the new fossils date back to one of the warmest periods in 65 million years of Earth's history. What's more, paleontologists generally assume that species moving from cold to warm climates become smaller as the animals do not need to conserve heat.

It's all the more surprising, then, to find giant penguin fossils close to the Earth's equator, especially during the waning days of a greenhouse Earth, the authors of the study noted.

一群古生物學家發現了三千六百萬年前生活在祕魯南海岸的新品種企鵝化石遺跡。

這種名為「Icadyptes salasi」的古代企鵝高達一點五公尺，十八公分長的尖喙可能是啄食獵物用的。

現今已絕種的這種企鵝是全球體型最大、也是在祕魯海岸沙漠出土的企鵝品種之一。

古生物學家也在同一個地區，發現了另一種已絕跡的「Perudyptes devriesi」企鵝頭顱與部分遺骸。

這些化石可說是迄今已出土的最完整企鵝化石。古生物學家與專門研究企鵝的學生都認為，企鵝是從南極與紐西蘭等較冷的氣候環境進化，約一千萬年前才遷徙到更靠近赤道的地方，遠較三千四百萬年前全球氣溫大幅降低的時代晚。

北卡羅萊納大學羅雷校區的古生物學家暨海洋、地球與大氣科學系助理教授茱莉亞．克拉克說︰「我們傾向認為，企鵝是適應寒帶的生物。」

不過，這些新的化石卻可追溯到地球六千五百年歷史的某一個最溫暖時期。此外，古生物學家普遍認為，從寒帶遷徙到溫暖氣候的物種由於不需貯存熱能，體型會變小。

這份研究的作者群指出，最驚人的要屬在靠近赤道的地方發現了這些巨型企鵝化石，尤其當時屬地球溫暖時期即將結束的年代。（翻譯︰賴美君）

TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 1. fearsome adj. 可怕的 (ke3 pa4 de5) 例: Steven's beard makes him look rather fearsome. (史蒂芬的鬍子讓他看起來相當駭人。) 2. partial adj. 部分的 (bu4 fen4 de5) 例: Simone suffers from partial blindness. (賽門罹患一部分眼盲。) 3. assume v.i. /v.t. 假定 (jia3 ding4) 例: It is dangerous to assume that people know how to act in case of an emergency. (假設他人都知道危急時該如何應變，是危險的。) 4. conserve v.i. /v.t. 保存 (bao3 cun2)，保護 (bao3 hu4) 例: We all need to conserve energy to help combat global warming. (我們必須節約能源，協助阻遏全球暖化。)

SAY WHAT? 說說看 What's more　此外，更甚的是 What's more is a slang expression which means additionally. It is usually used for emphasis. For example: "He was over an hour late for the meeting. What's more, he hadn't even brought the right file with him!" A similar expression is to boot. For example: "If you study hard you will get into a good university, and you may get a scholarship to boot!" A more formal word with the same meaning is moreover. For example: "I really don't like the sound of your plan. Moreover I think that it is immoral." 「what's more」這個俚語是指「此外」，通常做為強調之用。例如︰「他開會遲到了一個多小時，而且，他甚至沒有帶該帶的檔案！」 類似的表達方式還有「to boot」，例如︰「你用功就可能進好大學，甚至還可能拿獎學金！」「moreover」是較正式的用法，例如︰「我真的不喜歡你的計畫，而且我覺得有點不道德」。

OUT LOUD 對話練習 Sam: Did you hear about that monster penguin fossil that they found in Peru? Sophie: Yeah, it's really weird isn't it? Sam: I always imagine penguins on ice for some reason. And looking kinda cute. This one looks deadly! Sophie: It's really true that fact is stranger than fiction, hey? Sam: Too right. No-one would have believed that Pingu could have a giant buddy with a 18cm beak! 山姆︰你聽說祕魯發現巨型企鵝化石了嗎？ 蘇菲︰是啊，真的很奇怪，對吧？ 山姆︰我總是想像企鵝在冰上的可愛模樣。這種企鵝看起來嚇死人了！ 蘇菲︰這就是事實比虛構的更離奇的活生生例子！ 山姆︰沒錯。沒人相信卡通「企鵝家族」的主角會有尖喙長十八公分的超大型朋友！ fact is stranger than fiction　事實比虛構的更離奇 People often say fact is stranger than fiction to point out that sometimes facts can be even stranger than a crazy made-up story or idea. 「fact is stranger than fiction」是指事實有時候會比瘋狂虛構的故事或點子更奇特。

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