When trying to work out what ancient animals ate, palaeontologists usually look to modern analogues.

当古生物学家试图弄清楚古代动物吃什么时，他们通常会参照现代的类似物。

Now the same experience is hitting palaeontologists again—but this time in reverse.

现在，同样的经历再次让古生物学家碰上了，不过这次相反。

The unarguable fact that most palaeontologists live in the rich world means two things.

大多数古生物学家生活在富裕世界这一无可争议的事实意味着两件事。

For years, palaeontologists have wondered if the same was true of plesiosaurs.

数年来，古生物学家一直想知道蛇颈龙是否也通过怀胎方式繁殖后代。

Many modern palaeontologists try to do something similar, except that what they reconstruct is behaviour.

许多现代古生物学家除了重现古代动物的行为外，也在尝试做着同样的事情。

For that reason, palaeontologists have used the compounds as a biomarker for the presence of eukaryotes in ancient rocks.

因此，古生物学家使用这些化合物作为古岩石中真核生物存在的生物标志物。

Some palaeontologists think them members of a phylum that is now extinct.

有的古生物学家认为它们属于已经绝迹的一门动物。

A new species of dinosaur, excavated in 2007 in Australia, has been identified by palaeontologists as among the largest ever.

2007年在澳大利亚出土的一种新恐龙被古生物学家认定为有史以来最大的恐龙之一。

Whether the first birds evolved from arboreal or terrestrial ancestors is a matter of lively debate among palaeontologists.

关于第一只鸟是从树栖还是陆生的祖先进化而来，一直是古生物学家激烈争论的话题。

The other is that what knowledge has been garnered about poor-country palaeontology is frequently the result of visits by rich-country palaeontologists.

另一个是，穷国古生物学知识往往是富国古生物学家访问的结果。

Palaeontologists estimate that Homo emerged somewhere between 2.5m and 3m years ago.

古生物学家估计，智人出现于 250 万至 300 万年前。

The only exception is Little Foot, recovered from Member 2 in 1994 by Ronald Clarke, a palaeontologist at Wits.

唯一的例外是 Little Foot，它于 1994 年由 Wits 的古生物学家 Ronald Clarke 从 Member 2 身上发现。

Louis Leakey, a palaeontologist and Ms Goodall's mentor, mused: " Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as human."

担任古道尔导师的古生物学家路易斯·利基若有所思地说：“现在我们必须重新定义工具，重新定义人类，否则就要承认黑猩猩是人类。”

Georges Cuvier, an early palaeontologist, made his reputation by predicting the anatomies of newly discovered fossil species from scant evidence, such as single bones.

早期古生物学家乔治·居维叶能在实据不足的情况下（如单一的骨骼）预测出新发现的化石物种的躯干结构，这使他在业界声名显著。

While Lombroso was measuring criminals, a Belgian palaeontologist called Louis Dollo was studying fossil records and coming to the opposite conclusion.

当 Lombroso 在测定罪犯的时候，一位叫做 Louis Dollo 的比利时古生物学家在研究化石记录，并且得出了相反的结论。

Pachycephalosaurus skull domes have intrigued us for decades and many palaeontologists think that they're an example of an intraspecific combat weapon.

几十年来，厚头龙的头骨穹顶一直吸引着我们，许多古生物学家认为它们是种内战斗武器的一个例子。

This doctrine has been emphatically admitted by many geologists and palaeontologists, who, like E. Forbes, entirely disbelieve in the change of species.

许多地质学家和古生物学家都坚决承认这一学说， 他们和 E. Forbes 一样， 完全不相信物种的变化。

Having checked they had not been unduly contaminated by bacteria or the shaking hands of awe-struck palaeontologists, strands of DNA were extracted, sequenced, and dated.

经过检查，它们没有被细菌和充满敬畏的古生物学家们的握手过度污染，DNA链被提取出来，测序，并确定了年代。

Now, as they report in this week's Nature, a group of palaeontologists have extended the known geographical range of early Homo sapiens from Africa to Europe.

现在，正如他们在本周《自然》期刊的报道，一群古生物学家将已知早期智人的地理范围从非洲延伸至了欧洲。

This lack caused them to be overlooked by early palaeontologists—and even now means they are known only from sites which had ideal preservation conditions at the time.

这种缺乏导致它们被早期古生物学家忽视——即使是现在也意味着它们只在当时具有理想保存条件的遗址中为人所知。