Even on land, crocodiles are no fish out of water. While these reptiles might look lazy and slow sunning on the bank, they can easily pick up speed when necessary, and a scary number can gallop or bound like a horse or a dog.
即使是在陆地上，鳄鱼也不是离了水的鱼。虽然这些爬行动物在河岸上晒太阳时看起来可能很懒、行动很迟缓，但必要时，它们可以轻易加速。很多鳄鱼还可以像马或狗一样疾驰或弹跳。

Bounding is when an animal's forelimbs hit the ground at the same time, with the back legs pushing off soon after; meanwhile, a gallop is a four-beat sequence whereby the fore and hindlimbs take turns landing.
弹跳指的是动物的两条前肢同时触地，后肢紧接着蹬起。而疾驰是四节拍的连续动作，前肢和后肢轮流着地。

Freshwater crocodiles from Australia (Crocodylus johnstoni) were historically thought to be the only species capable of doing both. But that's not actually true. Not even close.
历史上认为澳洲淡水鳄（Crocodylus johnstoni）是唯一能做到这两个动作的物种。但那不是真的。一点都不对。

It turns out even scientists have underestimated these creatures. Past research suggested only a handful of croc species were able to gallop, but a new study now adds five more to the mix, suggesting it's a whole lot more common than we ever thought.
甚至连科学家都低估了这些物种。过去的研究表明，只有少数几个鳄鱼品种能够疾驰，但是一项新的研究把五个新品种加了进去。这表明疾驰比我们想象的更加常见。

Setting up video cameras around a zoological park in Florida, veterinary scientists analysed the gaits and speeds of 42 individuals from 15 species of crocodylia, which includes true crocodiles (family Crocodylidae), alligators and caimans.
兽医科学家把录像机架在佛罗里达的动物园，分析了15个鳄目品种的42个个体的步态和速度，其中包括真的鳄鱼（鳄科）、短吻鳄和凯门鳄。

While alligators and caimans were only able to trot on land, the team noticed eight species of crocodile capable of galloping or bounding.
虽然短吻鳄和凯门鳄只能在陆地上小跑，该团队注意到，8种鳄鱼能够疾驰或者弹跳。

 

翻译：李然