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A new study has found that a dinosaur's size was not necessarily linked to how quickly it grew.
一项新的研究发现，恐龙的体型大小与其生长速度快慢并不一定有关。
The research results come from studying a group of dinosaurs called theropods.
科学家在对一群叫做兽脚亚目恐龙进行研究后得出了该研究结果。
Some theropods, like the meat-eating Tyrannosaurus rex, could grow to about the size of a bus.
有些兽脚亚目恐龙，比如食肉的霸王龙，可以长到和公交车一样大。
Others were much smaller, including some that grew to about the size of a cat.
其他恐龙要小得多，其中包括一些长得和猫差不多大小的恐龙。
Scientists have long believed that theropods generally followed a set pattern for growth.
长期以来，科学家一直认为兽脚亚目恐龙通常遵循一种固定的生长模式。
It was thought that dinosaurs that grew the fastest also got bigger than other theropods.
科学家认为，生长速度最快的恐龙的体型也比其他兽脚亚目恐龙的体型更大。
And the ones that grew slower were believed to grow up to be smaller.
科学家认为，生长速度较慢的恐龙的体型会比较小。
But the new study – which recently appeared in the publication Science – raises questions about that theory.
但最近发表在《科学》杂志上的这项新研究对这一理论提出了质疑。
The researchers examined rings called "cortical growth marks" in different theropod species.
研究人员检查了不同兽脚亚目恐龙身上被称为“皮层生长痕”的圆形标记。
The marks appeared inside the dinosaurs' bones each year.
这些生长痕每年都会出现在恐龙的骨头里。
They are similar to rings inside a tree that can be counted to tell how old the tree is.
它们类似于树的年轮，人们可以通过年轮来判断树的年龄。
Widely spaced rings suggest a faster growth rate, while closely spaced rings suggest slower growth.
间隔较大的圆形标记表示生长速度较快，而间隔较近的圆形标记表示生长速度较慢。
The scientists found no common pattern linked to body size.
科学家没有发现与体型有关的共同模式。
Some huge theropods grew quickly and stopped growing, while some grew slower over a longer period of time to reach the same size.
有些巨大的兽脚亚目恐龙生长迅速，然后停止生长，而另一些则在较长的时间内生长较慢，最终却有同样大小的体型。
Some small theropods grew quickly and others grew slowly.
有些小型兽脚亚目恐龙生长得很快，而另一些则生长缓慢。
Mike D'Emic is a professor of biology at Adelphi University in New York City.
迈克·德埃米克是纽约市阿德菲大学的生物学教授。
He was the lead writer of the study.
他是这项研究的主要作者。
D'Emic told Reuters news agency the latest research "overturns" past thinking about the growth of theropods.
德埃米克告诉路透社，最新的研究“颠覆了”过去关于兽脚亚目恐龙生长的想法。
He added that the study suggests other groups should also be studied to see if the research results hold up with other animals.
他补充说，这项研究表明，科学家也应该对其他群体进行研究，看看该研究结果是否适用于其他动物。
"It's equally likely that an animal evolved larger body size by growing at the same rate for longer, rather than just growing faster," D'Emic said.
德埃米克说：“同样有可能的是，动物通过以相同的速度长时间生长，而不仅仅是生长得更快，从而进化出更大的体型。”
"It is surprising and important to know that animals are just as likely to evolve to gigantic sizes at slow rates."
“知道动物有可能以缓慢的速度逐渐形成巨大的体型，这令人惊讶，也很重要。”
The study found that Tyrannosaurus rex – which could grow to 12 meters long – was an example of a big and fast-growing theropod.
研究发现，霸王龙可以长到12米长，是大型、快速生长的兽脚亚目恐龙的例子。
Acrocanthosaurus – which is a bit smaller than T. rex – was an example of a big but slow-growing theropod.
高棘龙--比霸王龙稍小一点——是大型但生长缓慢的兽脚亚目恐龙的一个例子。
The researchers said the 2-meter-long Coelophysis was a fast-growing, smaller theropod.
研究人员表示，2米长的腔骨龙是一种生长迅速、体型较小的兽脚亚目恐龙。
Xixianykus, one of the tiniest dinosaurs at 50 centimeters long, was a small and slow-growing theropod.
张氏西峡爪龙是最小的恐龙之一，长50厘米，是一种生长缓慢的小型兽脚亚目恐龙。
The study found that Spinosaurus – a 15-meter theropod that spent time on land and in the water – grew much more slowly than Tyrannosaurus.
研究发现，棘龙——一种15米长的兽脚亚目恐龙，生活在陆地和水中——比霸王龙的生长速度慢得多。
And it found that Mapusaurus, which reached about 11.5 meters, grew even faster than Tyrannosaurus.
研究发现，长约11.5米的马普龙比霸王龙生长得更快。
Patrick O'Connor is an evolutionary biologist and was a co-writer of the study.
帕特里克·奥康纳是一名演化生物学家，也是这项研究的合著者。
He told Reuters that the study should open the door to new research about how growth rates are connected to the size of many different animal groups.
他告诉路透社，这项研究应该会为新的研究打开大门，新研究将研究许多不同动物群体的生长速度与体型有怎样的联系。
I'm Bryan Lynn.
布莱恩·林恩为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
