在法國的一個山洞頂上發(fā)現(xiàn)了巨大的恐龍腳印

在法國的一個山洞頂上發(fā)現(xiàn)了巨大的恐龍腳印

Heads up! Scientists have discovered the prehistoric footprints of a colossal dinosaur on the roof of a cave in France. Nope, this doesn't mean that giant dinosaurs were dancing on the ceilings of caves like a sticky-footed Spiderman, although it goes to show the wealth of prehistoric discoveries that could be found lurking in the geology all around us.

小心!科學(xué)家們在法國一個洞穴的屋頂上發(fā)現(xiàn)了史前巨型恐龍的腳印。不，這并不意味著巨型恐龍像粘足蜘蛛俠一樣在洞穴的天花板上跳舞，盡管它顯示了隱藏在我們周圍的地質(zhì)中史前發(fā)現(xiàn)的財富。

Recently reported in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, researchers from the University of Burgundy–Franche-Comté discovered the three dinosaur trackways during an expedition in 2015 around the labyrinth-like Castelbouc Cave beneath the Causse Méjean plateau in southern France.

最近發(fā)表在《脊椎動物古生物學(xué)雜志》上的一篇文章稱，2015年，法國南部的科斯梅讓高原下，在迷宮般的Castelbouc洞穴附近，來自勃艮第-弗朗什-孔德大學(xué)的研究人員在一次探險中發(fā)現(xiàn)了這三條恐龍足跡。

The tracks, made some 166 million to 168 million years ago, are extremely well-preserved, complete with impressions of digits, pads, and even claws. At a stonking 1.25 meters (4 feet) long, the prints belonged to some of the largest known dinosaurs worldwide.

這些足跡大約形成于1.66億至1.68億年前，保存極為完好，留下了足趾、腳墊甚至爪子的印痕。這些石印長1.25米(4英尺)，屬于世界上已知的一些最大的恐龍。

Tom Hale

It’s not certain what species of sauropod was responsible for the tracks, not least because they date to an age in the Middle Jurassic when sauropod evolution is hazy. However, their size suggests they might have belonged to a titanosaur, a diverse group of long-necked sauropods that includes the largest land animals known to have ever existed, such as the 37-meter-long (121-foot) Patagotitan that roamed southern Argentina.

目前還不確定是什么種類的蜥腳類動物留下了這些足跡，尤其是因為它們可以追溯到中侏羅世，那時蜥腳類動物的進化還很模糊。然而，它們的大小表明它們可能屬于泰坦巨龍，這是一群不同的長頸蜥腳類動物，包括已知存在過的最大的陸地動物，比如漫步在阿根廷南部的37米長(121英尺)的Patagotitan。

So, how did these gentle giants' footprints end up on the cave roof? Back when sauropods was treading the Earth, the site was on the planet’s surface, but geological processes have since buried the sediments over the course of millions of years. With a bit of luck, the processes create a scenario where it appears the impression of the feet is embossed on the ceiling.

那么，這些溫和的巨人的腳印是如何留在洞穴頂部的呢?早在蜥腳類動物踏足地球的時候，這個地方就在地球的表面，但是地質(zhì)過程已經(jīng)掩埋了沉積物數(shù)百萬年了。幸運的是，這個過程創(chuàng)造了一個場景，腳的印象似乎是壓印在天花板上。

Reaching this portion of the cave nowadays is not so easy. The tracks are found some 500 meters (1,640 feet) beneath Earth’s surface, only accessible after traversing a winding network of caverns that are often flooded with water after rainy spells. As the researchers note, finding dinosaur tracks in this kind of environment is extremely rare, but it suggests that the scarcely explored caves of the world could be home to much more paleolithic treasures than thought.

如今要到達這個洞穴的這一部分并不容易。這些軌道位于地表以下約500米(1640英尺)處，只有穿過一個蜿蜒的洞穴網(wǎng)絡(luò)才能到達，而這些洞穴在雨季過后經(jīng)常被水淹沒。正如研究人員所指出的，在這種環(huán)境下發(fā)現(xiàn)恐龍足跡是極其罕見的，但這表明，幾乎沒有人探索過的世界洞穴可能是舊石器時代寶藏的家園，比人們想象的要多得多。

“This discovery demonstrates the great potential of prospecting in deep karst caves that can occasionally offer larger and better-preserved surfaces than outdoor outcrops,” the study authors write.

研究報告的作者寫道:“這一發(fā)現(xiàn)顯示了在深層溶洞中進行勘探的巨大潛力，與戶外露頭相比，深層溶洞有時能提供更大、保存更完好的地表。”

It’s not the first time dinosaur footprints in unusual circumstances have been discovered though. Back in February, researchers published another paper documenting a set of smaller dinosaur tracks imprinted on the roof of a cave near Mount Morgan in Queensland, Australia, and curious footprints found in a Texas quarry seem to suggest these giant dinosaurs traveled in water by punting themselves along the bottom.

不過，這并不是第一次在不尋常的環(huán)境中發(fā)現(xiàn)恐龍腳印。今年2月，研究人員發(fā)表了另一篇論文，記錄了在澳大利亞昆士蘭州摩根山附近的一個洞穴頂部留下的一組較小的恐龍腳印，而在德克薩斯州的一個采石場發(fā)現(xiàn)的奇怪腳印似乎表明，這些巨型恐龍是通過在底部撐船在水中行走的。