No. 0083 / 1 402

Texas coral snake

Micrurus tener

名前について： The Latin name tener means "soft or delicate", referring to the snake's graceful features.1

お医者さんが必要命にかかわることはまれだけど、かまれたらお医者さんへ。

サンゴヘビ

かむ食べもの：肉

人への危険: 深刻かまれたらお医者さんへ。死ぬことはとてもまれだよ。

The Texas coral snake is a venomous snake with bright black, yellow and red rings. It lives in the southern and southwestern United States and in parts of northeastern and central Mexico. Its bite can cause paralysis, so it is important to recognise it and keep well away.1

すんでいる場所

Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas in the USA; Guanajuato, Morelos, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas in Mexico1

北アメリカ

ホーム

It spends most of its time hiding in leaf litter and under logs. It can be seen on the surface after heavy rains, when night-time temperatures rise above 26 °C (78 °F).1

長さ

1.2 m (4 ft)1

最高速度

時速約4.9 km（時速3マイル）

陸で, おおまかな予想

何を食べるの？

Its main food is other snakes, mostly small burrowing species, and it also preys on venomous snakes such as copperheads. It sometimes eats small lizards, and rarely eats rodents. It is cannibalistic.1

Texas coral snakeの写真 — Texas coral snake。写真：The original uploader was Dawson at English Wikipedia.。 CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons.

見分け方

Black, yellow and red rings, with the rings running onto the belly.1
Smooth scales, a rounded head and round pupils.1
Somewhat larger and stouter than the eastern coral snake.1
Males are typically smaller than females.1
Shy and secretive, and mostly active at night.1

よくまちがえられるのは： Nonvenomous snakes copy the coral snake's colours as a form of Batesian mimicry. In the United States, the venomous coral snakes can be told apart by red rings touching yellow rings. The common rhyme "red and yellow, kill a fellow" is not always accurate because colours vary, and relying on it is dangerous.1

毒パワー

かむ

かむときに、毒が牙や歯から出るよ。

その毒（かむ・刺す毒）はどうなるの？

The snake has a pair of fixed, grooved fangs at the front of the upper jaw, and venom is injected through them. Its venom contains a neurotoxin, which attacks the nerves, and a myotoxin, which damages muscle. Bite victims may experience paralysis or myolysis (muscle breakdown), which can be potentially lethal.1

人にとってどれくらい危険？

人への危険: 深刻かまれたらお医者さんへ。死ぬことはとてもまれだよ。

Before antivenom was available, the fatality rate of coral snake bites was estimated at 10%. Deaths were mainly caused by breathing or heart failure from paralysis. A single bite can deliver 10–12 mg of dry venom, about twice the lethal dose for an adult human of 5–7 mg. Many bites deliver no venom at all, known as dry bites.1

いい知らせ：お医者さんには、これに効く薬（抗毒素）か治療法があるよ。1

こわいとき、どうするの？

When grabbed suddenly, or sometimes just when touched, it may thrash about, swing around and bite.1

かまれたら

Remove any jewellery from a bitten limb, in case of severe swelling. Wrap the bite area moderately tightly in a wide cloth, and move the bitten limb as little as possible. Take the bite victim to the nearest hospital as soon as possible for advanced treatment, such as antivenom.1
かまれたところが小さく見えても、その人をじっとさせて落ちつかせ、急いで病院へ：症状は何時間もあとに出ることがあるよ。

まず必ず救急番号（112、000、911）に電話しよう。これは一般的な応急手当の案内で、医療のアドバイスではないよ。応急手当の基本