ancient parrot in new zealand was 1m tall, study says
研究表明，新西兰的古代鹦鹉有1米高
a giant parrot that roamed new zealand about 19 million years ago had a height of 1m (3ft 2in) - more than half the average height of a human, a new study has found.
一项新的研究发现，大约1900万年前在新西兰游荡的一只巨型鹦鹉的身高为1米(3英尺2英寸)，是人类平均身高的一半以上。
the remains of the parrot were found near st bathans in new zealands southern otago region.
这只鹦鹉的遗骸是在新西兰南部奥塔哥地区圣巴坦斯附近发现的。
given its size, the parrot is believed to have been flightless and carnivorous, unlike most birds today.
从体型来看，不同于今天的大多数鸟类，该鹦鹉不会飞，而且应该是一种食肉动物。
a study of the bird was published on tuesday in the journal biology letters.
周二，《生物学快报》(biology letters)发表了一项关于此鹦鹉的研究。
weighing just over one stone (7kg), the bird would have been two times heavier than the kākāpo, previously the largest known parrot.
这只鹦鹉比一块7公斤石头还要重,体重是目前已知最大的鸮鹦鹉的两倍。
“there are no other giant parrots in the world,” professor trevor worthy, a palaeontologist at flinders university in australia and lead author of the study, told the bbc. “finding one is very significant.”
澳大利亚弗林德斯大学（flinders university）古生物学家、该研究的主要作者特雷弗·沃西教授（trevor worthy）告诉bbc:“世界上没有其他巨型鹦鹉，能找到这一个真的是意义非凡。”
bird family tree shaken by fossil discovery
baby bird fossil is ‘rarest of the rar’
how birds got their beaks
此类鹦鹉化石的发现，鸟类谱系因此经历了变革
幼鸟化石是世界上最稀有的鸟类化石
鸟的喙是怎么来的
palaeontologists have dubbed the new species heracles inexpectatus in recognition of its unusual size and strength.
古生物学家们把这种新物种命名为“大力士”，因为它的体型和力量都是不寻常的。
the bones - initially believed to belong to an eagle or duck - were kept in storage for 11 years until earlier this year, when a team of palaeontologists reanalysed them.
这些骨头最初认作是鹰或鸭的，一直保存了11年，直到今年早些时候，一组古生物学家重新分析了它们。
prof worthy said one of his students came across the parrots bones by chance in his laboratory during a research project.
沃西教授说，他的一名学生在他的实验室进行研究项目时偶然发现了鹦鹉的骨头。
the parrot’s beak would have been so big, mike archer of the university of nsw palaeontology said, it “could crack wide open anything it fancied”.
新南威尔士大学（the university of nsw）古生物学家迈克·阿彻（mike archer）说，该鹦鹉的嘴应该很大，它“可以把任何它想要的东西打开”。
the professor told afp news agency the parrot “may well have dined on more than conventional parrot foods, perhaps even other parrots”.
教授告诉法新社，这种鹦鹉“可能不仅吃传统的鹦鹉食物，甚至会吃其它鹦鹉。”
however, because the parrot had no predators, it is unlikely that it was aggressive, prof worthy told the bbc.
然而，沃西教授告诉bbc，由于该鹦鹉没有天敌，它可能没什么有攻击性。
“it probably sat on the ground, walked around and ate seeds and nuts, mostly,” he said.
“它可能大部分时间坐在地上，四处走动，主要吃种子和坚果，”他说。
paul scofield, the senior curator of natural history at canterbury museum, told afp that researchers were “putting our money on it being flightless”.
坎特伯雷博物馆(canterbury museum)自然历史馆长保罗·斯科菲尔德(paul scofield)告诉法新社记者，研究人员“把钱花在了研究该鹦鹉为什么不能飞行这个问题上”。
the discovery of large birds is not uncommon in new zealand, once home to the moa, a now-extinct species whose height reached an estimated 3.6m (11ft 8in).
大型鸟类的发现在新西兰并不罕见，新西兰曾是恐鸟的栖息地，恐鸟是一种现已灭绝的物种，其身高估计达到3.6米(11英尺8英寸)。
st bathans, where the giant parrots leg bones were excavated, is an area known for its abundance of fossils from the miocene epoch, which extended from 23 million to 5.3 million years ago.
这只巨型鹦鹉的腿骨是在圣巴坦斯出土的，该地区以其丰富的化石而闻名，这些化石可追溯至2300万年前到530万年前的中新世。
“but until now, no-one has ever found an extinct giant parrot - anywhere,” prof worthy told afp.
沃西教授对法新社说:“但到目前为止，还没有人在任何地方发现过已经灭绝的巨型鹦鹉。”
“we have been excavating these fossil deposits for 20 years, and each year reveals new birds and other animals... no doubt there are many more unexpected species yet to be discovered in this most interesting deposit.”
“我们已经挖掘这些化石沉积物20年了，每年都能发现新的鸟类和其他动物……毫无疑问，在这个最有趣的矿藏中，还有许多意想不到的物种有待发现。”
本文由言值录提供翻译
译者：任玲、黄凯

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