按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
〃 Grant hung up； and shook his head。 〃These people。〃
Ellie said； 〃What's it about？〃
〃Some lizard she's trying to identify；〃 Grant said。 〃She's going to fax me an X…ray。〃 He walked over to the fax and waited as the transmission came through。 〃Incidentally； I've got a new find for you。 A good one。〃
〃Yes？〃
Grant nodded。 〃Found it just before the kid showed up。 On South Hill； horizon four。 Infant velociraptor： jaw and plete dentition； so there's no question about identity。 And the site looks undisturbed。 We might even get a full skeleton。〃
〃That's fantastic；〃 Ellie said。 〃How young？〃
〃Young；〃 Grant said。 〃Two； maybe four months at most。〃
〃And it's definitely a velociraptor？〃
〃Definitely；〃 Grant said。 〃Maybe our luck has finally turned。〃
For the last two years at Snakewater； the team had excavated only duckbilled hadrosaurs。 They already had evidence for vast herds of these grazing dinosaurs； roaming the Cretaceous plains in groups of ten or twenty thousand； as buffalo would later roam。
But increasingly the question that faced them was： where were the predators？
They expected predators to be rare； of course。 Studies of predator/prey populations in the game parks of Africa and India suggested that； roughly speaking； there was one predatory carnivore for every four hundred herbivores。 That meant a herd of ten thousand duckbills would support only twenty…five tyrannosaurs。 So it was unlikely that they would find the remains of a large predator。
But where were the smaller predators？ Snakewater had dozens of nesting sites…in some places； the ground was literally covered with fragments of dinosaur eggshells…and many small dinosaurs ate eggs。 Animals like Dromaeosaurus； Oviraptor； Velociraptor； and Coelurus…predators three to six feet tall…must have been found here in abundance。
But they had discovered none so far。
Perhaps this velociraptor skeleton did mean their luck had changed。 And an infant！ Ellie knew that one of Grant's dreams was to study infant…rearing behavior in carnivorous dinosaurs； as he had already studied the behavior of herbivores。 Perhaps this was the first step toward that dream。 〃You must be pretty excited；〃 Ellie said。
Grant didn't answer。
〃I said； you must be excited；〃 Ellie repeated。
〃My God；〃 Grant said。 He was staring at the fax。
Ellie looked over Grant's shoulder at the X…ray； and breathed out slowly。 〃You think it's an amassicus？〃
〃Yes；〃 Grant said。 〃Or a triassicus。 The skeleton is so light。〃
〃But it's no lizard；〃 she said。
〃No；〃 Grant said。 〃This is not a lizard。 No three…toed lizard has walked on this planet for two hundred million years。〃
Ellie's first thought was that she was looking at a hoax…an ingenious； skillful hoax； but a hoax nonetheless。 Every biologist knew that the threat of a hoax was omnipresent。 The most famous hoax； the Piltdown man； had gone undetected for forty years； and its perpetrator was still unknown。 More recently； the distinguished astronomer Fred Hoyle had claimed that a fossil winged dinosaur； Archaeopteryx； on display in the British Museum； was a fraud。 （It was later shown to be genuine。）
The essence of a successful hoax was that it presented scientists with what they expected to see。 And； to Ellie's eye； the X…ray image of the lizard was exactly correct。 The three…toed foot was well balanced； with the medial claw smallest。 The bony remnants of the fourth and fifth toes were located up near the metatarsal joint。 The tibia was strong； and considerably longer than the femur。 At the hip； the acetabulum was plete。 The tail showed forty…five vertebrae。 It was a Propsognathus。
〃Could this X…ray be faked？〃
〃I don't know；〃 Grant said。 〃But it's almost impossible to fake an X…ray。 And Propsognathus is an obscure animal。 Even people familiar with dinosaurs have never heard of it。〃
Ellie read the note。 〃Specimen acquired on the beach of Cabo Blanco； July 16。 。 。 。 Apparently a howler monkey was eating the animal； and this was all that was recovered。 Oh 。 。 。 and it says the lizard attacked a little girl。〃
〃I doubt that；〃 Grant said。 〃But perhaps。 Propsognathus was so small and light we assume it must be a scavenger； only feeding off dead creatures。 And you can tell the size〃…he measured quickly…〃it's about twenty centimeters to the hips； which means the full animal would be about a foot tall。 About as big as a chicken。 Even a child would look pretty fearsome to it。 It might bite an infant； but not a child。〃
Ellie frowned at the X…ray image。 〃You think this could really be a legitimate rediscovery？〃 she said。 〃Like the coelacanth？〃
〃Maybe；〃 Grant said。 The coelacanth was a five…foot…long fish thought to have died out sixty…five million years ago； until a specimen was pulled from the ocean in 1938。 But there were other examples。 The Australian mountain pygmy possum was known only from fossils until a live one was found in a garbage can in Melbourne。 And a ten…thousand…year…old fossil fruit bat from New Guinea was described by a zoologist who not long afterward received a living specimen in the mail。
〃But could it be real？〃 she persisted。 〃What about the age？〃
Grant nodded。 〃The age is a problem。〃
Most rediscovered animals were rather recent additions to the fossil record： ten or twenty thousand years old。 Some were a few million years old… in the case of the coelacanth； sixty…five million years old。 But the specimen they were looking at was much； much older than that。 Dinosaurs had died out in the Cretaceous period； sixty…five million years ago。 They had flourished as the dominant life form on the planet in the Jurassic； 190 million years ago。 And they had first appeared in the Triassic； roughly 220 million years ago。
It was during the early Triassic period that Propsognathus had lived…a time so distant that our planet didn't even look the same。 All the continents were joined together in a single landmass； called Pangaca； which extended from the North to the South Pole…a vast continent of ferns and forests； with a few large deserts。 The Atlantic Ocean was a narrow lake between what would bee Africa and Florida。 The air was denser。 The land was warmer。 There were hundreds of active volcanoes。 And it was in this environment that Propsognathus lived。
〃Well；〃 Ellie said。 〃We know animals have survived。 Crocodiles are basically Triassic animals living in the present。 Sharks are Triassic。 So we know it has happened before。〃
Grant nodded。 〃And the thing is；〃 he said； 〃how else do we explain it？ It's either a fake…which I doubt…or else it's a rediscovery。 What else could it be？〃
The phone rang。 〃Alice Levin again；〃 Grant said。 〃Let's see if she'll send us the actual specimen。〃 He answered it and looked at Ellie； surprised。 〃Yes； I'll hold for Mr。 Hammond。 Yes。 Of course。〃
〃Hammond？ What does he want？〃 Ellie said。
Grant shook his head； and then said into the phone； 〃Yes； Mr。 Hammond。 Yes； it's good to hear your voice； too。 。 。 。Yes 。 。 。 。〃 He looked at Ellie。 〃Oh； you did？ Oh yes？ Is that right？〃
He cupped his hand over the mouthpiece and said； 〃Still as eccentric as ever。 You've got to hear this。〃
Grant pushed the speaker button； and Ellie heard a raspy old…man's voice speaking rapidly： 〃…hell of an annoyance from some EPA fellow； seems to have gone off half cocked； all on his own； running around the country talking to people； stirring up things。 I don't suppose anybody's e to see you way out there？〃
〃As a matter of fact；〃 Grant said； 〃somebody did e to see me。〃
Hammond snorted。 〃I was afraid of that。 Smart…ass kid named Morris？〃
〃Yes； his name was Morris；〃 Grant said。
〃He's going to see all our consultants；〃 Hammond said。 〃He went to see Ian Malcolm the other day…you know； the mathematician in Texas？ That's the first I knew of it。 We're having one hell of a time getting a handle on this thing； it's typical of the way government operates； there isn't any plaint； there isn't any charge； just harassment from some kid who's unsupervised and is running around at the taxpayers' expense。 Did he bother you？ Disrupt your work？〃
〃No； no； he didn't bother me。〃
〃Well； that's too bad； in a way；〃