BBC: 那些我们打着灯笼都找不到的巨型动物（双语）
Just because an animal's big doesn't mean it's easy to spot一些动物体格巨大并不意味着他们容易被看到
Giant armadillo
大犰狳
You think you'd notice something the size of a large pig, covered in scales with 20cm (8") front claws like scimitar blades. But the giant armadillo does such a good job of hiding, scientists have had to install secret cameras to find out more about it.
你觉得你肯定能注意到一个肥猪大小、浑身鳞片、前爪有20公分像短刀一样的家伙。但是大犰狳可是捉迷藏的高手，科学家只有在暗处安上摄像头才能捕捉到它的身影。
"Very few people have seen a giant armadillo in the wild," says Arnaud Desbiez, who runs the Giant Armadillo Project in Brazil. "In our field site the owner of the ranch, who was born and raised here, had never seen a giant armadillo before we started the project.”
“很少有人在野外看见过犰狳。”巴西大型 犰狳项目的负责人Arnaud Desbiez说：“在我们的勘查区里，一个土生土长的农场主，在我们项目进行之前从来没见过一只大犰狳。”
Weighing up to 50kg (110 lb) and reaching 1.5m (5 ft) in length, it is the largest species of armadillo.
重达50公斤，长达1.5米，这是犰狳中体型最大的一个种类。
At nearly twice the size of other species, its girth makes it unable to roll into the f 犰狳ily's distinctive ball-shape for defence. Instead, it digs underground burrows with its impressive front claws. It only ventures outside under cover of darkness.
这种犰狳的体型几乎有家族中其他种类的犰狳的两个大，由于体围关系，它们很难抱成犰狳独特的球形防御方式。所以，它们用强壮的前爪向地下刨洞，只有在黑暗的掩护下才外出。
The giant armadillo is considered a vulnerable species due to habitat loss and hunting, but local people are said to regard sightings of them as bad omens. The rare camera trap photographs may help to highlight its situation.
大型的犰狳由于栖息地的丧失以及狩猎活动被当做是一种脆弱的物种，但是当地人却认为看见它们是不祥之兆。摄像头捕捉的画面可以帮助人们了解它们的境遇。
Giant squid (Architeuthis)
巨型鱿鱼
Possibly the most infamous of giant animals lurks beneath the waves. The giant squid earns its name from a body size of up to 5m (16.5 ft) and a pair of elongated tentacles that can bring it to an overall length of 13m (42.5 ft).
可能最臭名昭著的巨型动物潜藏在海底深处。巨型鱿鱼因其庞大的体型而著称：长达5米的身体，加上超长的触须全身达到13米。
It is a predator, known for its huge flesh-ripping beak and eyes the size of footballs. But as a denizen of the deep ocean, living as far down as 1000m (3,280 ft), it is a species that very few people have seen alive.
巨型鱿鱼是捕食能手，撕裂鲜肉的大喙、足球大小的眼睛让它闻名遐迩。但是作为深居于1000米深的海底住客，很少有活的巨型鱿鱼被人看到。
Salty sea tales claim that monstrously large animals have destroyed ships, but documented encounters are rare. Most take place on the water's surface, when the squid is injured or dying.
The first footage of a giant squid in its natural deep-water environment was filmed in 2012.
The project was organised by a team of international scientists who launched a submersible vehicle off the coast of Japan. With a bit of bait and a lot of luck, an animal appeared in front of their cameras.
那些海底故事总是描述怪物般的大型动物摧毁了船只，但是很少有记录在案的例子。鱿鱼通常因为受伤或者将死的时候在水面上被人发现。2012年才有人第一次拍到了在自然的深水环境里的巨型鱿鱼。那次项目组织了全球的科学家通过潜水船艇深入日本海岸线附近的深海中。靠着一点点的鱼饵和很多很多的运气，一只动物终于出现在他们镜头之前。
Giant oarfish
巨型皇带鱼
Looking very much like an enormous sea serpent, the giant oarfish is extremely flat and undulates through the water like a wide silver ribbon.
巨型皇带鱼看起来非常像一条庞大的海中蛇怪，它身体非常扁平，在水中摇摆起来像一条宽宽的银丝带。
Its long pelvic fins look like oars and it has a distinctive red crest. But the most remarkable thing about the oarfish is its extreme length. Measured at up to 17m (56 ft), it is the world's longest bony fish.
皇带鱼长长的腹鳍看起来像船桨一般，它还有独特的红色头冠。但是皇带鱼最神奇的地方在于它超长的长度。皇带鱼以其17米的长度独冠世界上最长的多骨鱼。
Despite its massive size, the giant oarfish remains quite mysterious. It lives in the deep ocean alongside other giant species. It's not clear why deep-dwelling species are often so big: low temperatures, high pressure, a lack of currents or a scarcity of food have all been put forward as explanations.
巨型皇带鱼虽然长度赫然，但是却一直保持神秘。它们和其他巨型物种一同深居海底。深居物种为何体型都如此庞大的原因尚不可知：低温，高压，缺乏水流还是食物的匮乏，人们逐一猜测其中的原因。
Because of its deep-dwelling habits, the giant oarfish is a rare sight. In recent years, unmanned submersibles have managed to film it in its natural environment, but very few people have seen a healthy one in the flesh.
因为巨型皇带鱼隐居海底，很少有人能看到它的踪迹。最近几年，无人潜水艇曾成功地在自然环境下拍摄到这种生物，但是很少有人亲眼看到无恙的巨型皇带鱼的身影。
Giant oarfish only appear at the surface when dead or injured. Where one washes in to shore, it is usually photographed being held aloft by large groups of people to show its relative size.
In June 2015, Santa Catalina Island off the coast of California hosted its third giant oarfish in as many years when a 5.2m (17 ft) specimen washed ashore.
巨型皇带鱼只会在死后或者受伤时才会浮现在水面上。当一只巨型皇带鱼被冲上岸时，通常一大群人喜欢合力抱起鱼照相，以衬托它的长度。2015年6月，加利福尼亚州海岸外的圣卡塔丽娜岛上发现了该岛多年以来第三条被冲上岸的巨型皇带鱼。
Goliath frog巨蛙
The world's largest frog can weigh as much as a newborn baby, tipping the scales at 3.2kg (7lbs).
世界上最大的青蛙和一个新生儿重量差不多，大约3.2公斤重。
The goliath frog might be huge, but like many of its amphibian cousins it does its best to conceal itself. Mottled green camouflage helps it to hide among the moss-covered rocks.
巨蛙体型虽然巨大，但是像它的很多两栖近亲一样，它把自己掩藏得好好的。它身上斑驳的绿色迷彩有效地帮助它在青苔纵横的岩石中间躲藏。
It lives in or near fast-flowing rivers in the coastal rainforests of west Africa.
它栖息在非洲西部的沿海榆林中湍急的河流旁。
You might think it would have an impressive croak to match its bulk, but you'd be wrong. Unlike most other frogs, the goliath frog does not possess a vocal sac, so it whistles to attract mates instead.
你可能觉得这么大体格的它肯定有呱呱响的叫声吧，这你可就错了。巨蛙和其他蛙不同的是，它没有声囊，而是用哨声吸引配偶。
Despite its stealthy adaptations, the goliath frog is an endangered species.
虽然巨蛙行事躲躲藏藏，但是也挽回不了它们濒临灭绝的局势。
Its population has reportedly declined by 50% in the last three generations. The frogs are widely hunted as a delicacy and for the international pet trade, notably for frog-jumping competitions in the US.
巨蛙的数量在近三代减少了50%。由于巨蛙可以做成佳肴或者成为国际宠物贸易的一角，主要是美国的青蛙跳远比赛，所以它们被大肆捕杀。
While some frogs have been exported for captive breeding programmes, these have so far proven unsuccessful. Instead conservationists are concentrating on local communities, in a bid to curb unsustainable hunting.
有些青蛙被输往其他国家进行圈养繁殖，但是至今收效甚微。动物保护人员开始依靠当地社区以求减少不可持续的猎捕行动。
Chan's megastick 陈氏大竹节虫
While most insects can fit in the palm of your hand, there are a few giants out there. The longest in the world is a stick insect that lives in Borneo. It was named after its discoverer as Chan's megastick in 2008.
大部分昆虫都能装进你的手掌之间，但是有些格外大型的昆虫。世界上最长的昆虫是在婆罗洲(马来西亚)生活的竹节虫。2008年，这个物种以其发现者的名字命名为陈氏大竹节虫。
The largest known example is over 0.5m (22") long with legs outstretched and is kept at the Natural History Museum in London, UK.
已知的最大的一只在四腿伸直后超过半米长，现保存在英国伦敦的自然历史博物馆里。
Very little is known about the insect because in the wild it is exceptionally difficult to see. Males are brown and females mottled green, and both are long and spindly, so they are perfectly camouflaged in their rainforest home.
人们对这个物种鲜知寡闻，因为在野外要找到它如同登天。雄性竹节虫为棕褐色，雌性为迷彩绿，两者都体型修长若柳，所以能够和他们生活的雨林完美地融入一体。
To further mimic the plants around them, the eggs of the insect resemble seeds and have wing-like extensions, which are thought to help them to disperse on the wind.
为了模仿得更像身边的植物，连它们下的蛋都貌似种子，蛋上还有羽翼一般的延展，可以随风而动，更好地帮助它们扩散。
Experts believe Chan's megastick lives in the forest canopy, making it even more challenging to find. Only a handful of specimens are currently known to science.
专家们认为，生活在大森林的掩盖下的陈氏大竹节虫让寻找它们难上加难。至今科学界只有为数不多的几个标本。
Giant isopod深海巨虱
Imagine a woodlouse that can grow longer than a cat, 76cm (2.5 ft) long – and weigh 1.7kg (3.75 lb). Well, it exists and it's called the giant isopod.
想象一只鼠妇长得比猫还大，76厘米长，1.7公斤重。这种“鼠妇”确实存在，它叫深海巨虱。
It is a crustacean, distantly related to shrimp and crabs. It lives far beneath the waves where growing to relatively giant proportions is not uncommon.
这是一种甲壳纲动物，和虾、螃蟹是远方亲戚。它生活在深海处，这里大型动物并非稀奇。
This oversized roly-poly shares its terrestrial cousins' rigid exoskeleton and ability to roll into a ball for defence. It has seven pairs of legs, two sets of sensitive antennae and large compound eyes. It is a pale lilac colour.
这种超大型鼠妇和它们在地面上的亲戚一样具有坚硬的外骨骼，可以蜷缩成球防御的能力。它们有七对足，两对敏感的触角和大大的复眼。周身浅莲灰色。
In cold waters off the US coast it inhabits the sea bed, feasting on the corpses of whales, fish and squid. Food is a rare resource when you live as far down as 2000m (6560 ft) below sea level so when this scavenger finds a meal it attacks.
它栖息在美国海岸旁冰冷的海床上，吸食鲸鱼、鱼和鱿鱼的死尸活命。2000米以下的深海中，食物极为稀少，所以当这种食腐动物找到一餐时，它们会进攻。
Its targets can include fishermen's trawl nets, and most encounters with the creature occur when it is dragged to the surface as bycatch. In 2010, a huge specimen was found latched onto a remotely-operated vehicle being used in sea surveys.
它们的捕食目标包括渔民的捕鱼网，人们最经常见到这种生物是在它们被渔网捎带着打捞到水面上的时候。2010年，一个巨大的深海巨虱被发现挂在一艘进行海上调查的远程操控机械上。
Such wild encounters with the animal are rare, but several are held in aquarium collections around the world, and they are particular favourites in Japan.
能遇见这种动物的几率很小，但是有一些深海巨虱在世界各地的水族馆里展览，它们在日本尤其受到宠爱。
版权声明：本文系新东方网独家稿件，版权为新东方网所有。转载须注明来源及作者，否则必将追究法律责任。
页:
[1]