第 0251 號，共 1 402 號

Belcher's sea snake

Hydrophis belcheri

名字的由來： The genus name Hydrophis comes from Greek words meaning water and serpent. The species name belcheri honours Sir Edward Belcher, the naval officer who collected the first specimen.1

可能致命不治療的話可能會害死你。如果牠咬了你，要趕快求救。

海蛇

咬

對人的危險: 非常危險如果沒有治療，牠可能會害死一個人。

Belcher's sea snake is a sea snake with very strong venom. It has a shy nature and usually bites only when it is badly mistreated. Fishermen handling nets are the people most often bitten.1

分布在

印度洋, 太平洋, 安達曼海, 南海, 阿拉伯海與波斯灣3

首頁

People most often meet this snake when handling fishing nets, which is when most of its bites happen.1

長度

50 cm 到 1 m (1,6 ft 到 3,3 ft)1

最高速度

大約 3,8 km/h（2,4 mph）

游泳, 粗略估計

Belcher's sea snake 的照片 — Belcher's sea snake。照片：Rasmussen AR。 CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Usually chrome yellowish in colour, with dark greenish crossbands on the body1
The dorsal pattern does not extend onto the belly1
Short head with bands of the same colours1
Adults are about 50 to 100 cm long1
Out of water, the body looks faintly yellow1

常被誤認為： It has been mistakenly called the hook-nosed sea snake (Enhydrina schistosa), which is a different species. It has also once been called the blue-banded sea snake, which is a common name for Hydrophis cyanocinctus.1

毒液力量

咬

咬的時候，毒液會從毒牙或牙齒出來。

牠的毒液有什麼作用？

Not much is known about this species' venom. Its LD50 in mice, the dose that kills half of the test animals, is 0.24 mg/kg when injected into muscle.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 非常危險如果沒有治療，牠可能會害死一個人。

It is described as extremely venomous. Usually those bitten are fishermen handling nets, and only about one quarter of those bitten are envenomated, meaning venom is injected, because the snake rarely injects much venom.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

It has a timid temperament and would normally have to be severely mistreated before it bites.1

如果牠咬人

加壓固定法：用彈性繃帶緊緊包住咬傷處，再往上包住整條手臂或腿，用夾板固定，並讓傷者完全不動，直到救援抵達。
把傷者帶離水中，趕快送醫院。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果被牠咬了：保持冷靜，保持不動，打緊急電話（112、000、911）或趕快去醫院。記住牠的樣子，有照片會很有幫助。

牠不是想來抓你。牠用毒液來捕捉食物或保護自己，而且牠更想躲起來。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲太平洋印度洋南海安達曼海阿拉伯海與波斯灣

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

跟 2 隻家貓從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 6 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長可以在 47 秒內游完一座大游泳池（50 公尺）

Belcher's sea snake 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一個正在游泳的人 大約 3 km/h (1,9 mph)

Belcher's sea snake 大約 3,8 km/h (2,4 mph)

奧運游泳選手 大約 8 km/h (5 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Unlike most snakes, its scales overlap each other.1

Each dorsal scale has a central tubercle, which is a small raised bump.1

Its mouth is very small, which suits life in the water.1

破解迷思

迷思： Belcher's sea snake, often called the hook-nosed sea snake, is the most venomous snake in the world.

真相： This idea spread from a 1996 book, which lumped together toxicity results from different test methods. Venoms can only be compared within the same testing method. The most venomous sea snake is Dubois' seasnake (Aipysurus duboisii).1