新托福阅读材料：Smallest Fish

许多科学家都在为地球物种的研究保护做努力。澳大利亚科学家近期发现了一种名为大型婴儿鱼(Stout Infantfish)的鱼类，这是至今世界上最小的鱼类。

大型婴儿鱼的寿命只有两个月，也不会发育出鱼鳍，牙齿和鱼鳞等构造。是澳洲博物馆研究期刊中描述的三十二种新鱼类之一。

A fish that was captured about twenty-five years ago, but which was left unstudied all this time, is now revealed to be a new species. And not only that, but the new species sets the new world record for smallest and lightest fish, as well as for smallest and lightest animal with a backbone.

The largest of the specimens studied, and the only female, measures about a third of an inch long. The males are a tad over a quarter inch long. They weigh so little that it would take about five hundred thousand of the little guys and gals to accumulate a pound.

The fish do possess characteristics typical of fish larvae. They lack pigmentation and are transparent. And they lack teeth and scales. Fish with these characteristics are called infantfish even though they’re mature. Scientists call this new species stout infantfish because they’re a tad thicker than other infantfish.

And where can one find world's smallest and lightest fish?

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, but only a handful of specimens have been found so far.

Notes

1.larvae

n. 幼虫，名词larva的复数形式

2.pigmentation n. 染色, 着色, 色素沉淀

3. Great Barrier Reef 大堡礁

大堡礁(Great Barrier Reef Queensland, Australia)是世界七大自然景观之一，也是澳大利亚人最引以为自豪的天然景观。又称为“透明清澈的海中野生王国”。 大堡礁位于澳大利亚东北部昆士兰省对开，是一处延绵2000公里的地段，它纵贯蜿蜒于澳大利亚东海岸，全长2011公里，最宽处161公里。南端最远离海岸241公里，北端离海岸仅16公里。在落潮时，部分的珊瑚礁露出水面形成珊瑚岛。这里景色迷人、险峻莫测，水流异常复杂，生存着400余种不同类型的珊瑚礁，其中有世界上最大的珊瑚礁，鱼类1500种，软体动物达4000余种，聚集的鸟类242种，有着得天独厚的科学研究条件，这里还是某些濒临灭绝的动物物种(如人鱼和巨型绿龟)的栖息地。