The animal kingdom is always full of surprises. No matter where you go， you can see creatures with the most astounding2） natural or learned mechanisms. From the biggest to the smallest organism， there are many things about animals that can truly make our jaws drop. The ones listed here have the eye-popping3） ability to mimic the flora4） around them.

動(dòng)物王國(guó)總是無奇不有。無論到了哪里，你總能發(fā)現(xiàn)一些生物有著極其令人吃驚的生理機(jī)制，這些機(jī)制或是與生俱來，或是經(jīng)過后天習(xí)得而形成。從最大的生物體到最小的微生物，動(dòng)物世界里的很多東西都著實(shí)能讓我們驚嘆。這里列舉了一些動(dòng)物，它們模擬周圍植物群的能力就令人瞠目。

Ghost Mantis5）

Is that a leaf or a mantis？ Many people would certainly say leaf， even if they saw these moving. This small species of mantis can be found across Africa. They are very small and can grow only up to two inches long. They come in various colors： several shades of brown and greenish gray. They look like dead leaves. In fact， most parts of their body look like leaves that have dried up. They live for up to two years.

幽靈螳螂

這是葉子還是螳螂呢？很多人肯定會(huì)說是葉子，哪怕看到它們?cè)趧?dòng)也會(huì)這么說。它們是螳螂中體型較小的物種，遍布非洲各地。它們體型很小，最大也只能長(zhǎng)到兩英寸長(zhǎng)；它們顏色多樣，有各種深淺不一的棕色，有青灰色。它們看起來很像落葉，事實(shí)上，其身體的大部分都像已經(jīng)干枯的葉子。幽靈螳螂最長(zhǎng)可以存活兩年。

Green Plant-hopper6）

Also called the torpedo bug， this beautiful insect feeds on plants and looks like a leaf. When they are at rest， their green wings cover their bodies much like a sloping7） roof. They are small， with an average length of 15 mm or half an inch. Their name， Torpedo Bug， is due to the fact that their nymphs8） can leap to about two feet. They are native to Australia but they can now be found in Hawaii and New Zealand as well. One can find them in California， too.

Stick Insect9）

As the name suggests， this is an insect that looks a lot like a stick. They actually look more like a eucalyptus10） twig11）. Incidentally， their main source of food is the eucalyptus tree. They have long and slender bodies but they can also fly. They can grow for up to 18 cm long. These insects are natives of the southern part of Australia. They have made the woodlands of New South Wales and Victoria home but most of them can be found in places that are nearer to the waters.

Leafy Sea Dragon

What beautiful seaweed！ Upon closer inspection， though， you will realize that this is a fish that belongs to the same family as seahorses. Under the water， they look like floating seaweed. They have body parts that look a lot like leaves. These leaf-like body parts are not used for moving under the water. They are simply used for blending into their environment. What they use to move are fins12） that are transparent. These fins are difficult to see， making the leafy sea dragon look less like an animal and more like the plant it mimics.

Frogfish13）

The frogfish is one of the sea animals known for its aggressive mimicry14）， and there are many things the frogfish can turn itself into in order to find food or hide from predators15）. Some frogfish look like stones or corals， while there are others that can copy seasquirts16） or even sponges17）. Some can mimic other marine life， such as sea urchins18）. Of course， since they have been included in this list， it is essential to point out that there are some frogfish that look like they are covered in algae19）. Without these natural mechanisms， the frogfish is actually quite helpless against other sea animals.

Eastern Long-necked Turtle

These are turtles with necks that they can bend their head sideways into their shells. They are native to Australia and can mostly be found in freshwater swamps20）， dams， and lakes. Their plant mimicry comes in the form of algae growing on their shells. When they are not moving， they look a lot like rocks， thereby escaping predators or even humans with evil intentions.

綠飛虱

這種美麗的昆蟲又名魚雷蟲，以植物為食，看起來很像樹葉。它們休息的時(shí)候，綠色的翅膀蓋住身體，很像是傾斜的屋頂。它們體型很小，平均身長(zhǎng)15毫米（或合半英寸）。之所以叫魚雷蟲，是因?yàn)槠溆紫x可以跳約兩英尺遠(yuǎn)。綠飛虱是澳大利亞的本土動(dòng)物，但是如今在夏威夷和新西蘭也能發(fā)現(xiàn)它們的蹤跡，加利福尼亞也有。

竹節(jié)蟲

顧名思義，這是一種酷似竹節(jié)的昆蟲。事實(shí)上，竹節(jié)蟲長(zhǎng)得更像桉樹枝。順便提一下，它們的主要食物來源就是桉樹。竹節(jié)蟲身體修長(zhǎng)纖細(xì)，但是也會(huì)飛。它們最長(zhǎng)可以長(zhǎng)到18厘米，是澳大利亞南部土生土長(zhǎng)的昆蟲。它們現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)在新南威爾士和維多利亞的樹林里安了家，但是大部分都在離水域較近的地方活動(dòng)。

葉海龍

多么美麗的海草??！不過靠近一看，你就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)這是一種和海馬同族的魚類。在水下，葉海龍看起來像是浮動(dòng)的海草。它們有些身體部位很像葉子。但是這些像葉子的身體部位不是用來在水下運(yùn)動(dòng)的，而只是用來讓葉海龍自身和周圍的環(huán)境融為一體。葉海龍真正用來移動(dòng)的身體部位是鰭。它們的鰭是透明的，很難看到，這使得葉海龍看起來更像是它模擬的植物，而不太像是一種動(dòng)物。

魚

魚是擅長(zhǎng)攻擊擬態(tài)的海洋動(dòng)物之一，為了尋找食物或躲避天敵，它能把自己變成很多東西。一些魚看起來像石頭或珊瑚，有些則可以模擬海鞘，甚至海綿。還有一些能夠模擬其他海洋生物，比如海膽。當(dāng)然，既然魚被列進(jìn)了模仿植物的動(dòng)物高手名單，指出這一點(diǎn)很有必要——有些魚長(zhǎng)得很像是覆蓋了一層海藻。如果沒有了這些天生的生理機(jī)制，魚在對(duì)抗其他海洋動(dòng)物的時(shí)候?qū)嶋H上會(huì)非常無助。

巨蛇頸龜

這種龜?shù)牟弊娱L(zhǎng)，可以使其頭部彎向兩側(cè)藏進(jìn)龜殼里。巨蛇頸龜棲息在澳大利亞，大多生活在淡水沼澤、堤壩和湖泊地帶。它們的植物擬態(tài)表現(xiàn)為長(zhǎng)在龜殼上的藻類。巨蛇頸龜不活動(dòng)的時(shí)候，看起來特別像巖石，因此可以逃避天敵甚至是心懷惡意的人類。

1.mimic [?m?m?k] vt. 摹擬；模仿

2.astounding [??sta?nd??] adj. 令人震驚的；令人驚駭?shù)?/p>

3.eye-popping： 令人瞠目的

4.flora [?fl??r?] n. （指某一地區(qū)的）植物群

5.ghost mantis： 幽靈螳螂

6.plant-hopper： 飛虱

7.sloping [sl??pi?] adj. 傾斜的

8.nymph [n?mf] n. 【昆】蛹；幼蟲

9.stick insect： 竹節(jié)蟲

10.eucalyptus [?ju?k??l?pt?s] n. 桉樹

11.twig [tw?ɡ] n. 嫩枝；細(xì)枝

12.fin [f?n] n. 鰭；鰭狀物

13.frogfish [?fr?ɡ?f??] n. 魚

14.aggressive mimicry： 【動(dòng)物學(xué)】攻擊擬態(tài)，靠模擬行為誘導(dǎo)信號(hào)接受者犯錯(cuò)誤并從中得到好處的現(xiàn)象。比如蘭花螳螂模擬盛開的蘭花誘捕昆蟲。mimicry [?m?m?kri] n. 擬態(tài)，指動(dòng)物在外形、姿態(tài)、顏色、斑紋或行為等方面模仿他科有毒或不可食生物的躲避天敵的現(xiàn)象。

15.predator [?pred?t?（r）] n. 食肉動(dòng)物；捕食其他動(dòng)物的動(dòng)物

16.seasquirt： 海鞘

17.sponge [sp?nd?] n. 海綿（一種海洋動(dòng)物，體圓而柔軟）

18.sea urchin： 海膽

19.algae [??ld?i?] n. 水藻；海藻

20.swamp [sw?mp] n. 沼澤；沼澤地區(qū)