◎俞智敏

Who could have guessed that throughout the rise and fall of Rome’s emperors, monarchs and politicians a lowly creature has reigned supreme in the ruins of Trajan’s mighty empire？

誰想得到，在羅馬歷代帝王與政治人物興起與衰亡的同時，一種卑微的小生物卻在圖拉真（羅馬皇帝）龐大帝國的廢墟裡稱王？

Potamon fluviatile, an unassuming freshwater crab, has shown superior staying power, thriving in the canals built by the Etruscans nearly 3,000 years ago, Italian zoologists say.

淡水蟹這種不起眼的螃蟹，竟然展現了優越的持久力，能夠在伊特魯里亞人3000年前建造的運河裡生存至今，義大利動物學家說。

The ancient ruins of Trajan’s Forum in the heart of the Eternal City have provided the ideal habitat for the crustacean, which is much larger than its counterparts in lakes and rivers, zoologist Massimiliano Scalici said.

位於永恆之城（指羅馬）中心的圖拉真廣場古廢墟，提供了這種甲殼網動物理想的棲息地，牠們長得比湖裡或河裡的其他同類還大得多，動物學家史卡利奇指出。

"Early results of a genetic analysis that we are doing show that the genes of the crabs at Trajan are very close to those of Greek freshwater crabs," Scalici said. "So it’s very likely that they were introduced by the Greeks 2,500 or 3,000 years ago, which means they were here even before Rome was founded in 753 BC," he added.

「我們進行基因分析的初步結果顯示，圖拉真廣場螃蟹的基因和希臘淡水蟹非常接近，」史卡利奇說。「因此牠們很有可能是由希臘人在2500年或3000年前引進此地，也就是說，早在羅馬於西元前753 年建城之前，這些螃蟹就已經長居在此。」

While in nature the crab grows to a length of five centimetres （two inches）, it is more robust in the ruins, growing to more than eight centimetres.

這種螃蟹在野外可長到5公分長，但住在廢墟裡的螃蟹體型更為強健，可以長到逾8公分長。

新聞辭典

supreme：副詞、形容詞，指最高的、至上的，如︰By 1810, Napoleon reigned supreme over most of continental Europe.（到了西元1810年，拿破崙已成為歐陸大部份地區的最高統治者。）

staying power：指持久力、耐久力。stayer則指具持久力者，如︰The horse isn’t very fast but it’s a stayer.（這匹馬跑得不是很快，卻很有耐力。）

robust：強健的、健全的、結實的，如︰The once robust economy now lies in ruins.（一度十分健全的經濟現已崩潰。）