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A fisherman from New Zealand was left baffled when he caught this see-through shrimp-like creature swimming near the surface of the ocean.新西兰一位渔民捕捉到这只游动在海面像虾一样的透明生物时,简直是愣住了。
Stewart Fraser was fishing with two sons 43 miles north off the North Island's Karikari Peninsula when he spotted the translucent 'shrimp' floating near the top of the water.斯图亚特·弗雷泽带着两个儿子在北岛北部凯卡利卡利半岛附近捕鱼时,发现水面上漂着一只“透明虾”。
Mr Fraser said: 'I was in two minds whether to haul it in, but curiosity got the better of me and I decided to take a closer look.弗雷泽说:“我当时犹豫要不要把它捞上来,但好奇心让我决定近距离观察一下。”
'It felt scaly and was quite firm, almost jelly like, and you couldn't see anything inside aside from this orange little blob inside it.“它摸起来好像有鳞并且相当坚韧,除了体内有一颗橘色小圆球以外,看起来完全透明。”
The photo baffled Mr Fraser and all of his fisherman friends, who are still none more the wise as to what the creature could have been.这张照片让弗雷泽和其他渔民朋友们都很疑惑,因为谁也不知道它到底是什么。
Mr Fraser said: 'We have no idea what it could have been but it was quite something and I'd never seen anything like it before.'弗雷泽说:“我们不知道它是什么东西,但这货相当奇特,以前从未看到过。”
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However, Deborah Cracknell, research lead from the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, told MailOnline she believes the creature is a Salpa maggiore (Salpa maxima).然而,普利茅斯国家海洋水族馆的首席研究员黛博拉·克拉克内尔在接受《每日电讯报》采访时说,她认为这是一种名叫樽海鞘的生物。
Paul Cox, director of conservation and communication at the National Marine Aquarium, said: 'Little is known about these salps, however, they are often found in colder seas, with the most abundant concentration found in the Southern Ocean.国家海洋水族馆的动物保护及信息部主管保罗·考可斯说:“有关樽海鞘的信息很少,然而它们经常出没在温度较低的海洋里,其中以南大洋中的数量最多。”
'The salp is barrel-shaped and moves by contracting, pumping water through its gelatinous body.“樽海鞘这种生物呈筒状,通过全身收缩、排出海水来推动自己凝胶状的身体移动。”
'It strains the water through its internal feeding filters, feeding on phytoplankton from the upper sunlit layer of the ocean. “它通过体内滤器吸收水分,以进食日光照射的海洋表面的浮游生物为生。”
'They have an interesting life-cycle with alternate generations existing as solitary individuals or groups forming long chains.“它们的生命周期非常有趣,或独自活动、或形成长长的群居链,代代繁衍。”
'In common with other defenceless animals that occupy open water - jellies and hydroids for example - the translucence presumably provides some protection from predation. Being see-through is a pretty good camouflage in water.'“对于其他类似的无防御能力的海洋生物来说,生存之道就是占据开阔水面。这一现象很常见,比如水母和水螅虫。通体透明可以保护它们免受捕食者的侵袭。在水中,透明的身体是一种很好的伪装。” |