Western green mamba
The western green mamba is a long, thin and highly venomous snake. It lives in forests, thickets and woodland along the coast of West Africa, and it spends most of its time high in the trees. Its venom is fast-acting, so any bite needs urgent medical care.1

Cómo reconocerlo
- Bright green, fading to yellow or orange towards the tail.1
- Scales have prominent black edges, which give a networked pattern.1
- Long, slender body with a long tapering tail.1
- Long, thin head with medium-sized eyes that have round pupils and yellowish brown irises.1
- Typical adult length is 1.4 to 2.1 metres.1
Se confunde a menudo con: It can be mistaken for green bushsnakes of the genus Philothamnus, and for the boomslang. Counting scales is a key way to identify snakes to species level, and the western green mamba has 13 rows of dorsal scales at midbody, fewer than any similar species.1
Poder del veneno
El veneno sale por sus colmillos o dientes cuando muerde.
¿Qué hace su veneno?
Its venom contains neurotoxins (which attack the nerves), cardiotoxins (which harm the heart) and fasciculins. Symptoms usually start within about 15 minutes and can include pain and swelling, headache, drowsiness, difficulty breathing, vertigo, low blood pressure and paralysis. Without treatment, the victim can die when paralysis stops the breathing muscles, and a bite can be fatal in as little as 30 minutes.1
¿Qué peligro tiene para las personas?
Peligro para las personas: MortalUno de los animales más peligrosos del mundo.Bites to people are uncommon because the snake is rarely encountered and conflict with humans is low compared with some other species in the region. However, many recorded bites have been fatal, and the World Health Organization lists it as a snake of medical importance in western sub-Saharan Africa.1
Buena noticia: los médicos tienen un medicamento (antídoto) o un tratamiento para esto.1
¿Qué hace cuando se asusta?
When threatened, it can flatten its neck into a slight hood, and it usually retreats if it is encountered.1
Si muerde
- Apply a pressure bandage, keep the victim as still as possible and take them quickly to a hospital or clinic. An arterial tourniquet may help because of the venom's neurotoxic effects. Antivenom is the main treatment, and tetanus toxoid is sometimes given.1
- Mantén a la persona quieta y tranquila, quítale anillos y cosas apretadas y llévala rápido a un hospital: el tratamiento es el antídoto.
Llama siempre primero a tu número de emergencias (112, 000, 911). Esto son pautas generales de primeros auxilios, no consejo médico. Primeros auxilios básicos
Mantente a salvo
- Nunca toques, atrapes ni molestes a un animal salvaje, aunque sea pequeño y aunque parezca dormido o muerto.
- Déjale espacio. Si te encuentras uno, mantén la calma, retrocede despacio y deja que siga su camino.
- Si te muerde: mantén la calma, no te muevas, llama a tu número de emergencias (112, 000, 911) o ve rápido a un hospital. Recuerda cómo era, una foto ayuda.
No va a por ti. Usa su veneno para cazar o defenderse, y prefiere mil veces esconderse. Más sobre cómo protegerte
¿En qué parte del mundo?
¿Qué tamaño tiene?
¿Cuánto mide?
mide como 4 gatos domésticos de la nariz a la cola
mide como 12 plátanos puestos en fila
podría recorrer 100 metros en 43 segundos (el humano más rápido necesita 9,6)¿Qué tamaño tiene Western green mamba comparado contigo?
Solo cálculos en tu navegador. No se guarda ni se envía nada a ningún sitio.
¿Qué velocidad alcanza?
Datos
Its venom is among the fastest-acting of any snake, and symptoms can appear within about 15 minutes of a bite.1
Its venom is more potent than that of the eastern green mamba, and much less potent than that of the black mamba.1
It is mostly active during the day and spends most of its time in the forest canopy, sometimes at considerable height.1
The oldest recorded specimen was a captive snake that lived 18.7 years.1
It is one of the more expensive African snake species, and it is collected and sold internationally.1
Cazamitos
Mito: Western green mambas are aggressive snakes that attack people.
Verdad: Opinions differ on how aggressive it is, and it usually retreats when encountered. Bites are uncommon, but when cornered it can attack, and its bites have a high fatality rate.1
Para expertos en veneno
De dónde salen los datos
- Western green mamba (Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0))
- Dendroaspis viridis (iNaturalist): nombres y clasificación.
- Venom Wiki: el nivel de peligro, el tamaño típico y la velocidad estimada son nuestros. Mira cómo los calculamos: Cómo valoramos el peligro.
Cada dato de esta página tiene un número que lleva a su fuente. Si nos hemos equivocado en algo, perdón, somos fans de los animales, no una revista científica. Escríbenos a [email protected] y lo arreglamos.
Mordeduras
