Discovering Dinosaurs

Discovering Dinosaurs. Written by Kara Fried. Focus question. What are fossils? And how have they helped us learn about dinosaurs?

探索恐龙 卡拉·弗里德 著 探究问题 什么是化石？ 化石又是如何帮助我们了解恐龙的呢？

Finding Fossils How do we know dinosaurs lived on Earth? Scientists, called paleontologists, discover fossils in rocks all over the world. Studying fossils helps them learn about dinosaurs, including what they looked like, where they lived, and what they ate.

寻找化石 我们怎么知道恐龙曾经生活在地球上呢？ 被称为古生物学家的科学家们，在世界各地的岩石中发现了化石。 研究化石能帮助他们了解恐龙，包括恐龙的样貌、栖息地和食性。

Bone fossils start to form after the death of a dinosaur. Over time, layers of mud, sand, or dirt cover the remains of the dead dinosaur. Once covered, the bones are protected from scavengers as well as rain and other weather conditions. They remain underground until they are discovered millions of years later. Sometimes the dinosaur's bones have turned to stone. In other cases, hard mud surrounds the bones, but the bones have actually decayed. Paleontologists can study the spaces where the bones used to be. They can then recreate the bones based on the shapes of the spaces left behind. Paleontologists have found many different types of dinosaur fossils including bones, footprints, teeth, nests, and eggs.

骨骼化石在恐龙死亡后开始形成。 久而久之，一层层泥浆、细沙或是尘土覆盖了恐龙的遗骸。 被覆盖后，骨头就能免受食腐动物破坏，也不会被雨水和其他天气侵蚀。 它们一直沉睡在地下，直到数百万年后被人们发现。 有些时候，恐龙的骨头会逐渐变成石头。 还有一种情况：硬泥浆包裹住骨头，但骨头其实已经腐烂消失了。 古生物学家可以研究原本骨头所在的空腔。 再根据空腔留下的形状还原出骨头原本的样子。 古生物学家已经发现了多种恐龙化石，包括骨骼、脚印、牙齿、巢穴和恐龙蛋。

These paleontologists are excavating or carefully digging bone fossils out of the ground. After recording information about them, the paleontologists will wrap the fossils to keep them safe. Then they will take the fossils to a museum where they will examine them. Paleontologists will study different features of the fossils, such as their shape and color. They'll consider where the fossils were discovered and how deep underground they were discovered.

这些古生物学家正在发掘，也就是小心地把骨骼化石从土层中挖出来。 记录好化石的相关信息后，古生物学家会把化石包裹起来，避免它们受损。 之后他们会把化石送到博物馆，在那里开展研究。 古生物学家会研究化石的不同特征，比如形状和颜色。 他们还会记录化石的出土地点，以及发现时所处的地下深度。

By comparing their finds to other fossils, paleontologists try to figure out what type of dinosaur they have discovered. Sometimes they can fit bone fossils together to form a complete skeleton. However, it's rare that a complete skeleton is found together or can be put together over time. Most dinosaurs had hundreds of bones, so it is difficult to find all of them. Scientists use other dinosaur skeletons as models for the ones they are trying to put together.

通过把新发现和其他化石做对比，古生物学家会判断新发现属于哪种恐龙。 有时候他们能把骨骼化石拼接起来，组成一副完整的骨架。 但很少能一次性找到完整骨架，或是慢慢拼接出一副完整骨架。 大多数恐龙都有数百块骨头，因此很难找全所有骨头。 科学家会用其他恐龙骨架作为模板，来拼接正在整理的新骨架。

Learning from Fossils Paleontologists use many other types of animal skeletons to help them learn about dinosaur skeletons. Although dinosaurs are extinct, many animals alive today share certain characteristics with them. Some dinosaur bones may be bigger than those of animals alive today. However, the shapes of certain bones and the way their bones fit together are sometimes related.

从化石中获取知识：古生物学家会参考多种其他动物的骨架，来研究恐龙骨架。 虽然恐龙已经灭绝，但如今很多现存动物和恐龙有着一些共同特征。 有些恐龙的骨头比现存动物的骨头更大。 不过，部分骨头的形状、骨头拼接的方式，两者有时是相通的。