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The science world has paid homage to Johnny Depp by giving his name to an extinct creepy-crawly with "scissor hand-like" claws reminiscent of one of the Hollywood actor’s best-known roles.

科學界最近向好萊塢影星強尼戴普致敬,用他的名字來替一種長有類似「剪刀手」螯足的已絕種生物命名,因為這種螯足令人想起戴普所扮演過最知名的角色之一。

Kooteninchela deppi, a 505-million-year-old distant ancestor of lobsters and scorpions, has been named for Depp’s famous portrayal of a gentle freak named Edward Scissorhands in the 1990 eponymous film, according to a study in the Journal of Palaeontology.

根據「古生物學期刊」上的一份研究指出,距今5億500萬年的生物Kooteninchela deppi是龍蝦和蠍子的遠祖,因為令人想起戴普在1990年同名電影中所扮演的知名角色、性格溫和的怪胎剪刀手愛德華,而以戴普來命名。

"When I first saw the pair of isolated claws in the fossil records of this species, I could not help but think of Edward Scissorhands," researcher David Legg of Imperial College London said in a statement.

「當我第一次看到這種生物化石紀錄裡的那對獨立螯足時,實在禁不住想起剪刀手愛德華。」倫敦大學帝國學院研究人員雷格在聲明中指出。

The "chela" in the genus name Kooteninchela given to the recently-discovered fossilised critter is another reference to the film character, as it means "claws" or "scissors" in Latin.

這個新近才被發現的化石生物所被給予的屬名Kooteninchela中,chela指的也是同一電影角色,因為這個字在拉丁文中意為「鉗子」或「剪刀」。

The animal, about four centimetres long with millipede-like legs, lived in shallow seas off the coast of British Columbia in Canada during the Cambrian period. It was probably a hunter or scavenger, using its claws with their elongated spines to capture prey or probe the sea floor for creatures in hiding.(AFP)

這種生物長約4公分,長有類似馬陸的腳,在寒武紀時代生活於加拿大英屬哥倫比亞海岸外的淺海地區。它很可能是獵食者或食腐動物,會伸長脊椎並使用螯足來捕捉獵物,或搜尋躲藏在海床裡的動物。(法新社)

新聞辭典

creepy-crawly:可數名詞,非正式用語,指令人感到不快或毛骨悚然的蠕蟲、昆蟲、蜘蛛或其他不會飛行的小型生物,如She started to hallucinate, seeing creepy-crawlies on her bed.(她開始產生幻覺,看到床上爬滿了各式小蟲。)

eponymous:形容詞,指以某文學作品、電影等命名的、使某民族或地方得名的,如the eponymous heroine in the film of Jane Eyre(電影「簡愛」中的同名女主角)。

critter:名詞,美式非正式用語,常指小型動物或生物,如The woods are filled with skunks, raccoons, and other critters.(樹林裡到處都是臭鼬、浣熊和其他小動物。)

資料來源http://iservice.libertytimes.com.tw/Service/english/english.php?engno=688586&day=2013-06-16

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