Časoris is an online newspaper aimed at children. Each week we’ll take an article and post it here as a Slovene-English dual text.
Sesalec, ki leže jajca, »švica« mleko in nima zob?
A mammal that lays eggs, "sweats" milk and has no teeth?
Written by Dora Adamič translated by JL Flanner & G Translate
Ta žival je kljunaš in živi samo v Avstraliji.
This animal is a platypus and lives only in Australia.
Je delno vodna mesojeda žival s strupenimi kremplji. Ima kljun, ki spominja na račjega, kratke noge s plavalno kožico med prsti in sploščen rep, ki je podoben bobrovemu.
It is a partially aquatic carnivore with venomous claws. It has a bill resembling a duck, short legs with a swimming skin between the toes and a flattened tail resembling a beaver.
Videti je torej kot mešanica različnih vrst in velja za eno najbolj zanimivih živali.
It thus appears to be a series of different species, and is considered the most interesting of animals.
Uvrščamo ga med sesalce, vendar ima veliko lastnosti, ki ga od sesalcev ločijo.
It is classified as a mammal, but has many properties that distinguish it from mammals.
Mladiči se izvalijo iz jajca in tako nekaj mesecev popolnoma odvisni od matere.
The pups hatch from the egg and thus become completely dependent on the mother for a few months.
Kljunaši denimo ležejo jajca, čeprav za sesalce velja, da potomce skotijo. Njihovi mladiči se za razliko od ptičjih na začetku prehranjujejo z materinim mlekom.
Platypuses, for example, lay eggs, although mammals are meant to give birth to offspring. Their pups are different from birds as they start feeding on their mother’s milk.
Mleko izločajo kar skozi kožo po vsem telesu. Običajno ga sesalci izločajo skozi bradavice.
They secrete milk through the skin all over the body. Usually mammals only secrete it through the nipples.
Prehranjujejo se z majhnimi vodnimi živalmi, vendar v nasprotju z večino sesalcev nimajo zob. V kljunu imajo samo dve plošči, s katerima meljejo hrano.
They feed on small aquatic animals, but unlike most mammals, they have no teeth. They have only two plates in their beak with which to grind food.
Ker je kljunaš tako nenavadna žival, bo znanstvena skupina iz Københavna raziskala njegov celotni genski zapis, da bi ugotovila izvor njegovih lastnosti.
Because the platypus is such an unusual animal, a Copenhagen scientific team will research its entire genetic record to determine the origin of its traits.
»Z vidika genetike je kljunaš dejansko mešanica sesalcev, ptičev in plazilcev, čeprav ga uvrščamo med sesalce,« pravi profesor Guojie Zhang in dodaja: »Genski zapis nam bo pomagal razumeti, zakaj drugi sesalci skotijo svoje potomce, kljunaši pa jih izvalijo iz jajc.«
"From a genetic point of view, the PLATYPUS is actually a mixture of mammals, birds and reptiles, although we classify it as a mammal," says Professor Guojie Zhang.
Zaradi podobnosti z različnimi živalskimi vrstami so kljunaši zelo zanimivi za proučevanje evolucije.
Because of their similarities to different species, platypus are very interesting with regard to studying evolution.
Z njimi si lahko pomagamo pri razumevanju sorodnosti različnih živali ter pri spoznavanju našega skupnega prednika.
They can help us understand the kinship of different animals and get to know our common ancestor.
V preteklosti so jih lovili zaradi njihovega krzna in skoraj iztrebili. Danes so zaradi nizke številčnosti uvrščeni med zaščitene vrste, izumrtje pa jim trenutno ne grozi.
In the past, they were hunted for their fur and nearly exterminated. Today, due to their low numbers, they are classified as a protected species, and are not currently threatened with extinction.
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