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Scientists Find Bones from Giant Penguin in New Zealand

新西兰发现巨型企鹅化石

Scientists in New Zealand have found fossilized leg bones from a penguin believed to have been about the size of an adult human.

新西兰科学家发现了一只企鹅的腿骨化石，据信这只企鹅的腿骨有成人的大小。

The previously undiscovered giant penguin species likely stood about 1.6 meters tall and weighed up to 80 kilograms.

这种从未被发现的巨型企鹅可能有1.6米高，重达80公斤。

The penguin existed about 60 million years ago, researchers say. The bones are believed to be from the oldest of several species of giant penguins that lived after dinosaurs died out.

研究人员说，这种企鹅大约存在于6000万年前。这些骨头被认为是生活在恐龙灭绝后的最古老巨型企鹅的一种。

A fossil hunter found the bones last year in the Waipara River bed near the city of Christchurch. The bones are from the animal's legs and feet.

一位化石猎人去年在克赖斯特彻奇市附近的怀帕拉河河床上发现了这些骨头。这些骨头是巨型企鹅的腿和脚。

Scientists confirmed that the bones came from a newly discovered species. They recently reported their results in "Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology."

科学家证实这些骨头来自一个新发现的物种。他们最近在《Alcheringa：澳大利亚古生物学杂志》上发表了他们的研究结果。

Paul Scofield is senior curator at New Zealand's Canterbury Museum. He co-wrote a paper on the discovery. He told the Associated Press that the bones are an important find. They show that the species is similar to another giant penguin found in Antarctica in 2000. The latest discovery, he said, helps show a clear connection between the two areas during the Paleocene period. This period lasted from 66 million to 56 million years ago.

保罗·斯科菲尔德（Paul Scofield）是新西兰坎特伯雷博物馆的高级馆长。他与人合写了一篇关于该发现的论文。他告诉美联社，这些骨头是一项重要发现。他们表示，该物种与2000年在南极洲发现的另一种巨型企鹅相似。他说，最新的发现有助于显示在古新世时期这两个地区的明显联系。这一时期从6600万年前持续到5600万年前。

Scofield said the penguins were able to grow larger after entering a new development period following the extinction of dinosaurs, sea reptiles and huge fish.

斯科菲尔德表示，在恐龙、海洋爬行动物和大型鱼类灭绝后，企鹅进入了一个新的发展期，它们能够发育得更高大。

Scofield added that the giant penguins became extinct within 30 million years, as large mammals began to rule the waters.

斯科菲尔德补充说，由于大型哺乳动物开始统治海洋，巨型企鹅在3000万年内灭绝了。

Ewan Fordyce is a paleontology professor from New Zealand's University of Otago. He was not involved in the research. He told the AP the penguin was among the oldest ever found. He said one of the most difficult things for scientists making such discoveries is estimating the overall size of the birds based on pieces of bones.

尤恩·福代斯（Ewan Fordyce）是新西兰奥塔哥大学的古生物学教授。他没有参与这项研究。他告诉美联社，这只企鹅是迄今为止发现的最古老的企鹅之一。他说，对科学家来说，做这类发现最困难的事情之一就是根据骨头碎片来估计企鹅的总体大小。

John Cockrem is a penguin expert at the country's Massey University who was also not involved in the research. He said the discovery helps add to what we know about giant penguins. He said it also confirmed New Zealand as the penguin center of the world.

约翰·科克雷姆（John Cockrem）是英国梅西大学的企鹅专家，他也没有参与这项研究。他表示，这一发现有助于加深我们对巨型企鹅的了解。他说，这也证实了新西兰是世界企鹅中心。

New Zealand is believed to have been home to many giant bird species that later disappeared. These included the world's largest parrot, a giant eagle and an emu-like bird called the moa.

新西兰被认为是许多后来消失的巨型鸟类的家园。这些动物包括世界上最大的鹦鹉、一只巨鹰以及一种名为“摩亚”的类似鸸鹋的鸟。

Recently, Canterbury Museum announced the discovery of an unusually large parrot believed to have lived about 19 million years ago. Scientists say the bird stood about one meter tall.

最近，坎特伯雷博物馆宣布发现了一只异常巨大的鹦鹉，据信它生活在大约1900万年前。科学家透露这只鸟约有一米高。

I'm Bryan Lynn.

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