世界上10种看起来像虚构却真实存在的动物(下)

ypus

3.鸭嘴兽

This semiaquatic, fur-covered, duck-billed, web-footed mammal that lays eggs seems to have been assembled from bits of other animals.

鸭嘴兽是半水栖的卵生哺乳动物，全身长毛，鸭嘴蹼足，看起来像是其它动物组装而成的。

Hailing from Australia, the platypus is about 2 feet (61 centimeters) in length and weighs just 3.5 pounds (1.5 kilograms).

鸭嘴兽主要分布在澳大利亚，身长约2英尺（61厘米），重约3.5英磅（1.5公斤）。

In fact, the platypus is so odd that when English naturalists first obtained a carcass for study in 1799 from New South Wales Gov. John Hunter, they worried that it might be a hoax foisted upon them by a mischievous taxidermist.

1799年，新南威尔士州的官员约翰·亨特把鸭嘴兽的尸体送给英国的博物学家研究，由于鸭嘴兽的样子太奇怪，他们一度以为这个尸体是某个动物标本剥制师的恶作剧。

The platypus is a forager that scoops up insects, larvae, shellfish, worms and gravel with its bill from the mud on the bottom of streams.

鸭嘴兽以昆虫、幼鱼、贝类和蠕虫为食，它们用扁扁的嘴巴从溪流底部的河床搜寻食物。

It stores its finds within cheek pouches until it reaches the surface and then uses the gravel to mash up the food for eating – a platypus has no teeth.

把食物同砂砾一起放到腮帮子里，然后浮出水面，由于鸭嘴兽没有牙齿，所以它们就用砂砾把食物挤碎再吃下去。

Despite its seemingly awkward design, the creature turns out to be a surprisingly adept underwater swimmer, thanks to its webbed feet and beaver-like tail.

尽管样子看上去很奇怪，但鸭嘴兽却是一个游泳高手，这归功于它那条跟海狸一样的尾巴。

l Bird

2.林雕鸮

In Sri Lankan folklore, a woman whose child was murdered by her husband went mad and ran off into the jungle to commit suicide.

据斯里兰卡民间传说，一个女人因孩子被丈夫谋杀，发疯后跑进丛林自杀。

After her death, the gods transformed her into a creature called the ulama, or devil bird, whose horrible, human-sounding wail in the distance is a portent that something terrible is about to happen.

她死后，上帝把她变成乌力马，即恶魔鸟。它的叫声像人的哀嚎，哪怕在远处听到，也一般预示着会发生可怕的事情。

But was this a real animal? In the 1950s, ornithologist George Morton Henry, author of a definitive volume on the birds of Sri Lanka, decided that the devil bird actually was the spot-bellied eagle owl.

但这种动物真的存在吗？在二十世纪五十年代，鸟类学家乔治·莫顿·亨利，《斯里兰卡的飞鸟最终卷》一书的作者，认为恶魔鸟就是林雕鸮。

This predatory bird, which is also known as the forest eagle owl, is found in a swath of south Asia stretching from India to Burma.

这种食肉鸟类又叫猫头鹰 ，在亚洲南部，从印度到缅甸的大片土地都可以发现它的踪迹。

It is about 21 inches (53 centimeters) in length and has heart-shaped spots and prominent black-and-white ear tufts that give it a suitably eerie appearance.

它大约21英寸长（53厘米），有心形的斑点和突出的黑白耳毛，这让它看起来很怪异。

But people who are fearful of it shouldn't worry, because it eats only game birds (like pheasants), reptiles and fish.

但害怕它的人其实不必担心，因为它只吃鸟（像野鸡）、爬行动物和鱼。

anian Devil

1.袋獾

Some might think the Tasmanian devil is a fictional creature, cooked up by an imaginative animator for the Warner Bros. "Looney Tunes" shorts.

有些人可能认为袋獾是虚构的生物，是由华纳兄弟创造的想象力丰富的动画“兔八哥”里的角色。

But it's actually a real animal, Sarcophilus harrisii, which is indigenous to Tasmania, an island to the south of the Australian mainland.

但实际上它是一种真正的有袋类动物，是靠近澳洲大陆南岛的塔斯马尼亚岛上的原生物种。

The size of Tasmanian devils varies considerably, depending on diet, habitat and age, but large males can grow as long as 2.5 feet (80 centimeters) and weigh as much as 26 pounds (12 kilograms).

袋獾的大小有很大差别，这取决于它们的饮食、生境和年龄，但男性可以能长到2.5英尺（80厘米），重达26磅（12公斤）。

The devil is a stocky animal with brownish-black fur, white throat patches and spots on its sides and backside, pink snout and a big powerful head and jaw.

袋獾身材矮胖，棕黑色皮毛，白色的喉咙，两侧和背面有斑点，粉色的鼻子和一个巨大的头部和下颚。

The latter enables the scavenger to gnaw on the already dead carcasses of wombats, wallabies, sheep and rabbits, though devils also will eat insects, larvae, snakes and vegetation when the opportunity presents itself.

虽然它也会吃昆虫、幼虫、蛇和蔬菜，但它们通常是机会主义者，多食腐肉，以咬死的袋熊，袋鼠、羊、兔的尸体为食。

Contrary to its cartoon counterpart, the actual Tasmanian devil is a slow, lumbering creature, not a frenetic whirlwind, though it is known to get loud and rowdy when eating in groups.

虽然袋獾一起进食时声音很大众所周知，但与它对应的卡通形象相反，袋獾实际上是一种缓慢而低效的生物，而不是一个凶恶的生物。

And despite its fearsome reputation, conservationists are worried about the devils' long-term survival, because they're threatened by a contagious facial cancer that killed off 60 percent of the population between 2000 and 2010.

尽管它们声名狼藉，自然资源保护论者依然很担心此物种的存活，因为一种传染性面部肿瘤威胁着它们的生存，这种面部肿瘤在2000到2010年间曾导致60%的袋獾丧生。