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This creates steam in oasis and a profusion of life. Today, these warm springs are a refuge for one of Florida's most tropical inhabitants. The West Indian Manatee wasn't present during the last ice age, but returned here as the waters warmed up.
这使得绿洲之中产生了小溪也同时孕育了大量的生命。如今，这些温泉成为了佛罗里达一种最具热带特色的生物的避难所。西印度海牛在冰河时代末期并不存在，但是当这里的温度升到后来到了这里。
Even now, it is only found around this subtropical tip of the continent. But these springs aren't just a haven for modern day wildlife. They've also yielded many secrets of the distant past.
即使现在，我们也仅仅能在这块大陆的亚热带地区发现他们的踪影，但是这些温泉并不只是现代野生动物们的天堂，他们还蕴含着遥远过去的秘密。
When these pools were first explored, they would have looked like this, strewn with astonishing fossil remains from ice age beasts.
当这些温泉最初被探索的时候，他们应该是这幅模样，到处都是存在于冰河时代的动物们惊人的化石和骨骼。
Florida has one of the richest fossil records of the ice age anywhere on earth. So what kind of creatures did such bones and skulls belong to? And how did these springs become their graveyards?
佛罗里达是在世界上拥有冰河时代化石记录最多的地区之一。那么这些骨骼和头骨们有属于那些动物呢？而这些动物又怎么葬身于此？
Many of the fossils are from animals that you can still see today. Indeed, we've recognized the vast majority of Florida's ice age wildlife. Nevertheless, the most spectacular ice age beast did become extinct. And remarkably, some of them share a common ancestor with modern manatees.
很多的化石都属于那些今天我们还能看到的动物。确实，我们能够识别出佛罗里达大部分的冰河时代动物化石。然而，那些最为壮丽的冰河时代动物已经灭绝。让人吃惊的是，他们之中的一些动物和现代的海牛属于同一祖先的后裔。
英文文本来自普特英语，译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载.
