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Scientists have discovered fossils that might have belonged to the heaviest animal in Earth's history.
科学家发现了可能属于地球历史上最重动物的化石。
The blue whale holds the current record as the largest creature to live on Earth.
蓝鲸保持着目前地球上最大生物的纪录。
But a collection of bones found in Peru might break that record.
但在秘鲁发现的一批骨骼可能会打破这一纪录。
Researchers recently introduced the whale species in a study in the publication Nature.
研究人员最近在《自然》杂志上的一篇研究论文中介绍了这种鲸鱼物种。
It is called Perucetus colossus, or "the colossal whale from Peru."
它被称为“来自秘鲁的巨鲸”。
Each back bone, or vertebra, weighs more than 100 kilograms.
每根脊椎骨的重量都超过100公斤。
The animal's ribs measure nearly 1.4 meters long.
这种动物的肋骨长约1.4米。
Mario Urbina discovered the bones in 2012.
马里奥·乌尔维纳于2012年发现了这些骨骼。
He is with the University of San Marcos' Natural History Museum in Lima.
他在利马的圣马科斯大学自然历史博物馆工作。
An international team spent years digging them out from the side of a rocky hill in the Ica desert.
一个国际团队花了数年时间从伊卡沙漠的一座岩石山坡上挖出了它们。
The area was once underwater and is known for its rich collection of ocean fossils.
该地区曾处于水下，以其丰富的海洋化石而闻名。
The find resulted in 13 backbone vertebrae, four ribs and a hip bone.
他们发现了13根脊椎骨，4根肋骨和1根髋骨。
The large fossils date back to around 39 million years ago.
这些巨型化石可以追溯到大约3900万年前。
Alberto Collareta is a paleontologist at Italy's University of Pisa.
阿尔贝托·科拉雷塔是意大利比萨大学的古生物学家。
He was a lead writer of the study.
他是这项研究的主要作者。
He told The Associated Press the fossils were "unlike anything I've ever seen."
他告诉美联社，这些化石“与我所见过的任何化石都不同”。
Hans Thewissen is a paleontologist at Northeast Ohio Medical University who did not take part in the research.
汉斯·塞维森是东北俄亥俄医学大学的古生物学家，他没有参与这项研究。
He said, "It's just exciting to see such a giant animal that's so different from anything we know."
他说：“看到如此巨大且与我们所知的任何动物如此不同的动物太令人兴奋了。”
After the digging operation, the researchers used 3D scanners to study the surface of the bones and also looked inside.
在挖掘工作结束后，研究人员使用3D扫描仪研究了骨骼的表面和内部。
The researchers used the huge but incomplete skeleton to estimate the whale's size and weight, said Eli Amson.
艾利·阿姆森说，研究人员使用这具巨大但不完整的骨架来估计鲸鱼的大小和重量。
He is a paleontologist at the State Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart, Germany.
他是德国斯图加特州立自然历史博物馆的古生物学家。
The team estimates the ancient creature weighed somewhere between 85 and 340 metric tons.
该团队估计，这种古代生物的重量在85到340公吨之间。
The biggest blue whales found have been within that range, at about 180 metric tons.
被发现的最大的蓝鲸的体重在这个范围内，重约180公吨。
The body of Perucetus colossus stretched about 20 meters long.
“来自秘鲁的巨鲸”的身体大约20米长。
Blue whales can be longer, with some growing to more than 30 meters.
蓝鲸可能会更长，有些蓝鲸可以长到30米以上。
This means the newly discovered whale was "possibly the heaviest animal ever," said the University of Pisa's Collareta.
比萨大学的科拉雷塔说，这意味着新发现的鲸鱼“可能是有史以来最重的动物”。
But, he added, "it was most likely not the longest animal ever."
但是，他补充说，“它很可能不是有史以来最长的动物。”
The research team said one reason the animal weighs more is because its bones are much denser and heavier than a blue whale's bones.
研究小组表示，这种动物体重更重的原因之一是它的骨骼比蓝鲸的骨骼密度更大、更重。
Those super-dense bones suggest the whale may have spent its time in less deep, coastal waters, the scientists said.
科学家表示，这些密度超高的骨骼表明，这种鲸鱼可能在较浅的沿海水域生活过。
Other animals that stay close to the coast, like manatees, have heavy bones to help them stay close to the seafloor.
其他在海岸附近生活的动物，如海牛，有很重的骨骼帮助它们靠近海底。
Amson, from the State Museum of Natural History in Germany, said that without the skull, it is hard to know what the whale was eating to support such a huge body.
德国斯图加特州立自然历史博物馆的阿姆森说，没有头骨，很难知道这种鲸鱼靠吃什么来支撑如此巨大的身体。
It is possible that the large creature sought food along the seafloor, the researchers said.
研究人员表示，这种大型生物可能沿着海底觅食。
Or it could have eaten up tons of smaller sea life in the ocean.
或者，它可能会吃掉海洋中大量的小型海洋生物。
Thewissen added that he would not be surprised "if this thing actually fed in a totally different way that we would never imagine."
塞维森补充说，“如果这种动物真的以一种我们从未想象过的完全不同的方式进食”，他不会感到惊讶。
I'm Bryan Lynn.
布莱恩·林恩为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
