评论
打印
Scientists drilled a small, deep hole in the Goldfields-Esperance area of Western Australia and found a true millipede.
科学家们在西澳大利亚的金矿-斯佩兰斯地区钻了一个小深洞，发现了一种真正的千足虫。
The word millipede means "a thousand feet," but until now, no insect had ever been found with that many legs, or feet.
“millipede”这个词的意思是“一千只脚”，但直到现在，还没有发现过有这么多腿或脚的昆虫。
The millipede in Australia had 1,306 legs.
澳大利亚的这种千足虫有1306条腿。
The scientists are calling it Eumillipes persephone.
科学家们称它为尤米利普斯·珀耳塞福涅。
Paul Marek studies insects for Virginia Tech University.
保罗·马雷克是弗吉尼亚理工大学的昆虫专家。
He is the lead author of a study recently published in Scientific Reports.
他是最近发表在《科学报告》上的一项研究的主要作者。
Marek's co-writer is Bruno Buzatto, a biologist in Perth, Australia.
马雷克的合著者是澳大利亚珀斯的生物学家布鲁诺·布扎托。
He called the discovery a "stunning animal, a marvel of evolution."
他称这一发现是“令人惊叹的动物，是进化的奇迹。”
The name means "true thousand feet" and uses the name of Persephone, the queen of the underworld in Greek mythology.
这个名字的意思是“真正的千足”，使用了希腊神话中冥后珀耳塞福涅的名字。
The scientists said one of the females had 1,306 legs.
科学家们表示，其中一只雌性千足虫有1306条腿。
Another had 998. The males did not have as many legs.
另一只有998条腿。雄性千足虫没有那么多腿。
Scientists said the number of legs is not always the same because the insects molt, which means to lose their outer layer as they grow.
科学家们表示，腿的数量并不总是一样的，因为昆虫会蜕皮，即它们在生长过程中会失去外层。
They add more legs throughout their lives.
在它们的一生中，它们会增加更多的腿。
The writers said the insects need all the legs to move through small openings in the deep soil.
作者说，这种昆虫需要用所有的腿才能通过土壤深处的小开口。
They live about 60 meters underground and are about 95 millimeters long with a width of less than 1 millimeter.
它们生活在地下约60米处，长约95毫米，宽不足1毫米。
Until now, the longest-known millipede was from California.
到目前为止，已知的拥有腿最多的千足虫来自加利福尼亚州。
It had 750 legs.
它有750条腿。
Buzatto said the insect comes from a "harsh," dry area in Australia where it is hard to find any millipedes on the surface.
布扎托说，这种昆虫来自澳大利亚一个“严酷”的干旱地区，在那里很难在地面上找到任何千足虫。
The millipedes do not have eyes.
千足虫没有眼睛。
Instead they use touch and smell to move through their environment.
相反，它们使用触觉和嗅觉在周围环境中移动。
They come from a species of insects that eat fungi.
它们来自一种以真菌为食的昆虫。
The Goldfields-Esperance area in Australia is known for mining the metals gold, lithium and vanadium.
澳大利亚的金矿-斯佩兰斯地区以开采金、锂和钒而闻名。
Scientists say millipedes first appeared 400 million years ago.
科学家们表示，千足虫最早出现在4亿年前。
There are about 13,000 species known.
已知的物种约有1.3万种。
The insects play a key role in their environments by eating plants and fungi.
这些昆虫以植物和真菌为食，在它们的环境中发挥着关键作用。
They leave behind sugar, carbon and nitrogen.
它们会留下糖、碳和氮。
"These nutrients can then be used by future generations of life," Marek said.
马雷克说：“这些营养物质可供后代使用。”
I'm Dan Friedell.
丹·弗里德尔为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
