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海蛇（之一）

 

The Definitive Sea Serpent

2. IDENTITY

Comparison of head profiles of: (Illustration)头部侧面的比较图：
头部侧面的比较图

a. Valhalla[1] animal
b. Plesiosaur
c. Common eel
d. Leopard seal

a. 瓦尔哈拉殿堂怪兽
b. 蛇颈龙
c. 普通鳗
d. 海豹

If we accept that an unknown animal was involved, what are we to make of [2] it?

The first question to consider is what class of animal the thing could belong to[3]. No one has suggested an amphibian, a bird, or any type of invertebrate. That leaves mammals, reptiles, and fish to choose from.

Meade-Waldo thought the beast's head was "turtle-like" but offered no specific theory as to what type animal it was. While Nicoll also thought the head reminiscent[4] of a turtle's, he believed the creature was a mammal. "It is of course, impossible to be certain of this," he admitted, "but the general appearance of the creature, especially the soft, almost rubber-like fin, gave one this impression."

However, there is no known mammal, living or extinct, which resembles this long-necked creature, although our knowledge of the fossil record is necessarily incomplete. One could hypothesize that the serpentine prehistoric whales known as zeuglodons might have developed a long-necked form. The objection to this is that zeuglodons were in fact evolving in the other direction, resulting in the almost total disappearance of the neck in modern whales.

 

(to be continued...)

    

 

 

注释：

1． Valhalla：
瓦尔哈拉，这里是巴西一个小岛的名字。Valhalla这个名称来自一个神话故事，指的是古斯堪的纳维亚神话中的主神奥丁的殿堂，亦为阵亡将士的殿堂。被瓦尔基里选中的阵亡将士，在奥丁神的领导下，白天格斗习武，夜晚饮宴取乐，直到世界末日。那时，他们将在奥丁神的率领下与巨人们作战。

2． make of：
明白，了解，对……有某种看法。比如：What do you make of the new manager?你对新任经理有什么看法？ I can make nothing of this scribble. 我看不懂写得这样潦草的文字。

3． belong to：
属于。在美式英语中，belong还可表示“应该是”，等于ought to be： You look tired. You belong in bed.你看来累了，该睡了。

4． reminiscent：
提醒的，使人联想的，像……的。只是表示这个意思时，它必须要与of 搭配。比如：a sweetish smell, vaguely reminiscent of coffee一种甜味，多少有点像咖啡。它还可表示“怀旧的，缅怀往事的”，比如：a reminiscent mood怀旧的心情。

 

  
 
 

 

2.验明正身

如果我们认定它是一只不为人知的神秘动物，那么该如何对它的出现作出解释呢？

首先需要考虑的问题是，它究竟属于哪一类动物？人们都觉得它不可能属于两栖类、鸟类或者无脊椎类动物。那么就只能在剩下的哺乳类、爬虫类和鱼类中作出选择了。

Meade-Waldo觉得它的头长得象海龟，却没有明确地指出它到底属于哪一类。Nicoll回忆时也有同感，但他想这应该会是一种哺乳动物。“当然，我还不能完全肯定，”他承认，“然而，这一巨兽的外形，尤其它那软软的，橡皮似的背鳍让我有这种感觉。”

尽管目前人类对远古生物形成记载还不尽完善，但是，在已知的哺乳动物种类中，还没有哪种现存的或已经灭绝的动物与这只长颈巨兽相似。有人猜测一种名为zeuglodons的史前类蛇鲸或许进化成了这种长颈巨兽。然而，有人对此提出了异议：事实上，zeuglodons以另一种方式进化至今：颈部几乎完全消失，最终形成了现在我们所看到的鲸类。

 

（待续……）