《中英對照讀新聞》The animal that stows its tongue in its rib cage 把舌頭藏在胸腔裡的動物

◎胡立宗

Bats use the earth’s magnetic field to navigate and one species has a huge tongue that is longer than its entire body, researchers said.

蝙蝠利用地球磁場導航，有一種蝙蝠則有副大舌頭，長度超過牠自己的身體，研究人員說。

In two separate studies, scientists in the United States have revealed unusual characteristics of the winged mammal.

根據兩篇研究，美國的科學家已經發現這種有翅哺乳類動物與眾不同的特性。

Richard Holland of Princeton University in New Jersey showed the homing devices of big brown bats can be altered by artificially shifting the Earth’s magnetic field, indicating the animals depend on a magnetic compass to travel.

紐澤西普林斯頓大學的學者霍蘭發現，如果地球磁場予以調整，棕蝠的導向器官也會跟著改變，顯示這種動物依賴（身體內的）磁性羅盤來移動。

By rotating the magnetic field by 90 degrees clockwise and anticlockwise in relation to magnetic north and tracking the bats’ attempts to fly home, the scientists found they flew in the wrong direction compared to other bats not exposed to the changes, who flew directly home.

依磁北方向，順時鐘和逆時鐘扭轉磁場90度後，再追蹤蝙蝠飛回巢穴的路徑，科學家發現，牠們會飛錯方向，其他未受干擾的蝙蝠則能直接飛回巢穴。

In another study Nathan Muchhala, of the University of Miami, taught the nectar bat Anoura fistulata to drink from a modified straw to measure its 85 millimeter tongue, which is 1.5 times longer than its body.

邁阿密大學學者穆卻赫拉在另一項研究中指出，他們引導長舌蝠Anoura fistulata使用一種修改過的麥管吸食，以測量牠那長85公釐的舌頭。牠的舌頭比身體還長1.5倍。

The bat, which stows its lengthy tongue in its rib cage, pollinates a plant with tubes of the same length. Muchhala suggests the extreme length of the bat’s tongue coevolved with the flowers of the plant.

這種將長舌收納在胸腔中的蝙蝠，以同樣長度的引管吸取花蜜。穆卻赫拉推測，這種蝙蝠舌頭的長度應是隨著植物的花朵而演化。

新聞辭典

navigate：航行、導航。例句︰He navigated the ship unharmed through troubled waters.（他安全地將船開過危險海域。）

homing：導引（能力），如︰homing ability，（動物）找到方向的能力。

coevolve：來自於evolve，演化；co-代表共同、一起。例句︰Supplies coevolve with demands.（供給隨需求而變。）