科學家發現最大飛鳥 翼展媲美殲10戰鬥機

The largest flying bird known to ever have lived has now been revealed, an extinct giant with a wingspan more than twice the size of the largest living flying bird, researchers say.
科學家稱，誰纔是迄今以來最大的飛鳥這一問題的答案現已揭曉，這種鳥是一種已經滅絕的史前巨鳥，翼展是現存最大飛鳥的兩倍之餘。

These findings exceed some predictions for the largest size possible for flying birds, scientists added.
科學家補充說道，這些發現超過了一些預測，我們沒想過飛鳥竟然能夠大到這種程度。

The new species, Pelagornis sandersi, had an estimated wingspan of 20 to 24 feet (6.1 to 7.3 meters) when its feathers are included. This is up to more than twice as big as that of the royal albatross, the largest living flying bird, which has a wingspan of about 11.4 feet (3.5 meters).
這一新的鳥類名爲桑氏僞齒鳥，若將羽毛算上翼展估計可達20至24英尺（6.1至7.3米），大約是地球上現存最大鳥類皇家信天翁的兩倍。皇家信天翁翼展大約爲11.4英尺（3.5米）。

"It's a really remarkable species,"study author Daniel Ksepka, a paleontologist and curator of science at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, told Live Science. "It really pushes the limits of how big we think flying birds can get. Getting a chance to add something like this to the avian evolutionary tree is really exciting."
研究報告的作者是擔任美國康乃迪克州格林威治布魯斯博物館館長的古生物學家丹尼爾·克塞普卡。他告訴Live Science，“它的大小確實超過了我們的猜想。能夠在鳥類進化樹中添上這樣的鳥類真令人興奮。”

Until now, the biggest known flying bird was the extinct Argentavis magnificens, a condor like titan from Argentina.
在發現桑氏僞齒鳥之前，地球上曾經存在的最大鳥類是已滅絕的阿根廷巨鷹。它是一種來自阿根廷的和禿鷹很像的巨鳥。

"It's disputed how large Argentavis' wingspan was — we only have one wing bone for it," Ksepka said. "We think the wingspan ofArgentavis' skeleton was a bit under 4 meters (13.1 feet), while the skeletal wingspan of P. sandersi was about 5.2 meters (17 feet). Now both of their wingspans would be longer once feathers are taken into account, but P. sandersi would still probably be larger than Argentavis."
克塞普卡表示，“對於阿根廷巨鷹的翼展究竟有多大，我們是有爭議的，因爲我們只找到了它的一根翼骨。我們認爲，阿根廷巨鷹骨骼的翼展差不多有4米（13.1英尺），而桑氏僞齒鳥骨骼的翼展大約爲5.2米（17英尺）。如果將羽毛算上，它們的翼展將更長，但桑氏僞齒鳥大概還是會比阿根廷巨鷹略勝一籌。”

The fossil was first unearthed in 1983 near Charleston, South Carolina, when construction workers began excavations for a new terminal at the Charleston International Airport. It was named Pelagornis sandersi in honor of retired Charleston Museum curator Albert Sanders, who led the fossil's excavation.
1983年，在美國南卡羅來納州查爾斯頓附近，建築工人爲建設查爾斯頓國際機場新航站樓進行挖掘時首次發現了該鳥化石。爲了紀念領導化石發掘工作的查爾斯頓博物館退休館長艾伯特·桑德斯，這種巨鳥被命名爲桑氏僞齒鳥。