世界上10種看起來像虛構卻真實存在的動物(上)
From winged dragons and unicorns, to Bigfoot and the Chupacabra, we humans have imagined a vast menagerie of animals that don't actually exist.
從飛龍，獨角獸，再到大腳怪，卓伯卡不拉，人們可以虛構一大羣實際上並不存在的動物。We tend to be so engrossed in fantasy creatures that we don't pay much attention to many of the 7.7 million different animal species that scientists estimate really live on our planet.
科學家們已經證實了在地球上有770萬類物種是真實存在的。但人們過於癡迷於那些假想出來的虛幻生物，以至於對真實存在的物種少了些許關注。Some are so colorful and bizarre that they almost seem as if some overeager fabulist made them up.
一些真實存在的動物色彩豔麗，長相奇異，就如同出自某位寓言家之口。
Take, for example, the golden lion tamarin, whose lush, resplendent mane and scowling visage make it look like a miniature version of one of those late-1980s heavy metal rockers on MTV.
就比如說：金線絨，它擁有一身茂密且富有光澤的毛髮，再加上一副愁眉不展的面容，就好像20世紀80年代後期在音樂電視頻頻露臉的重金屬搖滾樂手的翻版；Then there's the axolotl, which uses its stubby legs to crawl along the bottoms of lakebeds, and the dingiso, a tiny kangaroo-like creature that hops around on tree branches instead of on the ground.
再比如說，白化六角恐龍（又稱墨西哥蠑螈），它擁有短而粗壯的四肢，以此來支撐它在湖底爬行；還有白腹樹袋熊，一種小型生物，長相頗似袋鼠。但不同之處是，它的移動方式是跳轉於樹杈之間而不是在陸地上行走。But as we revel in this biodiversity, we also should remember that many of the world's most incredible creatures are threatened by deforestation, climate change and other human-induced activities in the environment.
當我們沉醉於物種的多樣性時，也應注意到一些新奇的物種正遭受着森林採伐，氣候變暖以及其他人類活動所引發的環境問題所造成的威脅。WWF warns we're losing hundreds and possibly thousands of species each year, an extinction rate that far exceeds the ordinary ebb and flow of nature. It's up to us to save them.
世界野生動物基金髮出的通告稱：每年就有成百上千乃至成千上萬的物種正在或已經消失。物種消失率遠遠超過了自然的正常衰退水平。而要挽救這些物種，要靠我們大家共同的力量。In that spirit, here are 10 animal species so strange and wonderful that they seem make-believe. And many are in danger of extinction.
懷着這樣的心情，今天給大家帶來了10種長相奇特卻又十分絕妙的動物。這些動物看似虛假卻是真實存在。同時，他們正面臨着瀕臨滅絕的危險。iso
10.白腹樹袋熊Imagine a tiny black-and-white kangaroo that lives in trees, and you've got the basic description of the dingiso.
對白腹樹袋熊的基本描述，可以說是一隻居住在樹上，黑白相間的小型袋鼠。The animal, which resides in the mountainous rainforests of New Guinea, grows to as much as 2.5 feet (76 centimeters) in length, possesses a long tail, well-developed hindquarters and a habit of moving both its hind feet at the same time in a hopping gait, just like the bigger Australian kangaroos that we're all familiar with.
白腹樹袋熊主要分佈在新幾內亞的多山雨林中，可長至2.5尺（76釐米）長。它有着長長的尾巴，強有力的四肢，這使它形成了利用後肢跳躍的移動方法。這與我們所熟知的澳大利亞袋鼠十分相似。
The dingiso sports curved nails and cushioned pads lined with rough skin on its large feet, which enable it to get a grip on tree trunks and branches, where it uses its long tail for balance as it climbs.
在白腹樹袋熊攀爬的過程中，彎曲的指甲、寬大的爪子上堅硬皮膚以及爪心肉墊的完美搭配使其可以牢牢地扎住樹幹及樹枝；尾巴則用來保持平衡。Like the kangaroo, the female dingiso has a pouch on its abdomen, where its young ride as they suckle milk from one of its four breasts.
和袋鼠一樣，雌性白腹樹袋熊的腹部有一個育兒袋，有四個乳房供其孩子吮吸乳汁。Sadly, their numbers are declining due to loss of habitat, hunters and a low birthrate.
可悲的是，由於棲息地的缺失，獵人的捕殺以及較低的出生率，白腹樹袋熊的數量正在不斷減少。do Dragon
9.科莫多巨蜥In the ancient world and right up through the Middle Ages, people told tales of monstrous giant reptiles called dragons, which sometimes sported bat wings and barbed tails, and wreaked carnage by breathing fire.
自遠古時代直至中世紀時期，有很多關於巨型爬行動物的傳說，人們將此類爬行動物稱之爲龍。龍被人們刻畫成了一個恐怖的形象：擁有一對大的可怕的翅膀，一條有刺的尾巴，會噴火且濫殺無辜。But that macabre fantasy creature turns out to have a real-life cousin.
這種貌似只會出現在人們幻想中的可怕動物，在現實世界中卻也有其翻版。
In 1912, naturalists discovered the Komodo dragon, a lizard from Indonesia that grows up to 11 feet (3.5 meters) in length.
1912年，自然主義者發現了科莫多巨蜥。這是一種來自印度尼西亞的類蜥蜴爬行動物，長至11尺（3.5米）。These reptiles are plenty scary in their own right. They're carnivorous hunters, and on occasion they've even dined upon humans.
科莫多巨蜥是食肉動物，有時甚至會捕食人類。While they lack fiery breath, they exhale something nearly as deadly — a virulent bacteria, which infects wounds caused by the dragon's teeth and causes them to rot and fester.
當它們生氣時，便會分泌出致命性物質，一旦被其咬傷，從其牙齒中分泌出來的有毒液體會使傷口化膿以至腐爛。t Squid
8.巨型魷魚Ancient lore is full of multi-limbed sea monsters such as the Scylla of Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey," which had 12 feet, six heads and a bark like a dog.
古老的傳說中，關於多肢海洋生物的描述比比皆是，比如荷馬史詩中有着六頭十二足，聲音如犬吠的鋸緣青蟹“奧德賽”。But in 1873, scientists got their first inkling of a real-life creature that resembled this one, when a Newfoundland fisherman caught a large tentacle-laden sea animal inadvertently and sold it to an amateur naturalist, the Rev. Moses Harvey.
而在1873年，一個紐芬蘭的漁夫意外捕獲了一隻身上長滿觸手的巨型魷魚並把它賣給了一個業餘的博物學家—傳教士-摩西哈維，科學家們首次找到類似這種海洋怪物的現實生物。
The giant squid (genus: Architeuthis), can grow to up to 43 feet (13 meters) in length, and weigh as much as a ton (907 kilograms).
巨型魷魚（大王烏賊屬）可以長到43英尺（13米）長，重近一噸（907公斤）。It has two eyes, a beak, eight arms, and two feeding tentacles equipped with sharp-toothed suckers that can grab prey as much as 33 feet (10 meters) away.
它有兩眼一嘴八臂，還有兩條配備着尖齒吸盤並可伸入33英尺（10米）遠的“高空”去捕捉獵物的進食觸手。Because the immense creature lives deep underwater, humans never saw a living one until 2006, when a research team in the Pacific Ocean south of Japan managed to hook a 24-foot (7.3 meter)-long specimen and pull it to the ocean surface.
因爲這種“低調”的傢伙生活在深海中，所以直到2006年有一個研究小組在太平洋南日本海里設法鉤住了一個24英尺（7.3米）高的巨型魷魚並把它拉到海洋表面，人們才得以一睹其真容。
