据美国媒体报道，澳大利亚近日发现一种新的恐龙物种。这一恐龙据信是该国发现的最大恐龙，也是世界上最大的恐龙之一。
A new species of dinosaur discovered in Australia has been confirmed as the largest ever found in the country, and one of the biggest in the world.
其实这一恐龙骨架很早就被发现了，但长期以来，大家都不知道它是什么，还给它起了一个名字，叫Cooper，因为发现它的地方是昆士兰州西南部一个叫Cooper Creek的地方发现的。
The fossilized skeleton, nicknamed "Cooper," was found in southwest Queensland in 2007, at Cooper Creek in the Eromanga Basin. But the skeleton remained a mystery for years, and has only now been scientifically described and named by paleontologists.
科学家现在确认它是一种恐龙，并将其命名为Australotitan cooperensis，并认为这种恐龙生活在9000多万年前。
这只恐龙的臀部有5至6.5米高，长度为25至30米，所以身高估计有两层楼稿，身长好似一个篮球场。
Researchers at the Eromanga Natural History Museum (ENHM) and the Queensland Museum published their findings in the PeerJ scientific journal on Monday.
"Cooper," whose scientific name is Australotitan cooperensis, is estimated to have walked the Earth over 90 million years ago. It was a titanosaur -- a plant-eating species belonging to the family of long-necked sauropods, the largest of the dinosaur species.
The dinosaur is estimated to have reached a height of 5 to 6.5 meters (16.4 to 21.3 feet) at the hip, and a length of 25 to 30 meters (82 to 98.4 feet) -- making it as long as a basketball court and as tall as a two-story building, the ENHM said.
titanosaur：泰坦巨龙
sauropod：蜥脚类恐龙
因为这个恐龙化石太大，所以这些骨头被分散地放在了博物馆里。
因此，研究小组使用3D技术来扫描每一块骨头，以数字方式将其与类似物种的骨头进行比较。
The enormous size of the bones meant they were stored in museums often hundreds of miles away from each other.
So the team used 3D technology to scan each bone of the titanosaur, which allowed them to digitally compare the bones to those of similar species.
澳大利亚专家认为，这将扩大恐龙的研究版图，增加了澳大利亚在研究古生物领域的地位。
（英语是多么爱用被动语态，这一点你发现了吗？）
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