第 0041 號，共 1 402 號

Common krait

Bungarus caeruleus

致命地球上最致命的動物之一。如果牠咬了你，要立刻求救。快速救援和抗毒血清能救活大多數人。立刻打緊急電話。

咬吃：肉

The common krait is a highly venomous snake that lives across South Asia. It is shiny black or bluish-black with thin white crossbands. It causes more medically significant snakebites in the Indian subcontinent than any other snake, so knowing what it looks like matters.1

分布在

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, possibly Bhutan, with range extending west into Afghanistan and possibly parts of Iran1

亞洲

首頁

It lives in scrub jungles, grasslands, farmland, semi-desert, rocky ground and suburban gardens. It often takes shelter in termite mounds, rat burrows or under debris, and it is common near streams, canals and ponds. During the monsoon it often enters houses in search of shelter or prey.1

長度

91 cm 到 1,8 m (3 ft 到 5,7 ft)1

最高速度

大約 6,9 km/h（4,3 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It feeds mainly on other snakes, including venomous kraits and vipers. It also eats small rodents, lizards, birds and frogs. It hunts mostly at night.1

Common krait 的照片 — Common krait。照片：Prashantha Krishna M C。 CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Body is generally black or bluish-black.1
About 40 thin, white crossbars run along the body. They may be faint or missing near the head in adults.1
Young snakes have clear, well-defined crossbands, even near the head.1
Older snakes may show the white lines as a series of connected spots.1
The head is flat, the neck is hardly visible, and the tail is short and rounded.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？

Its venom is neurotoxic, meaning it attacks the nerves. It blocks signals between nerves and muscles, which leads to progressive paralysis. Victims often have severe abdominal cramps and shortness of breath. Death from respiratory failure, meaning the breathing muscles stop working, may follow in about 4 to 8 hours if untreated.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 致命世界上最危險的動物之一。

It is responsible for the majority of medically significant snakebites in the Indian subcontinent. A clinical toxicology study reports an untreated mortality rate of 70 to 80 per cent. Bites often happen at night, when people are sleeping on the ground. The bite may cause little or no pain, which can delay treatment.1

好消息：醫生有藥（抗毒血清）或治療方法。1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

When threatened, it coils tightly with its head tucked underneath, may flatten its body, or makes sudden movements as a warning. It rarely bites unless provoked, but it can be more aggressive at night if disturbed.1

如果牠咬人

The main treatment is antivenom given in hospital. It should be given promptly, because it becomes less effective once paralysis has set in. Get medical help straight away after any suspected bite, even if there is little pain or swelling.1
讓傷者保持不動和冷靜，取下戒指和緊身的東西，並趕快送醫院：抗毒血清就是治療方法。

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

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

跟 4 隻家貓從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 10 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長可以在 52 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

Common krait 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？

一個正在走路的人 大約 5 km/h (3,1 mph)

Common krait 大約 6,9 km/h (4,3 mph)

騎腳踏車的小朋友 大約 12 km/h (7,5 mph)

值得知道

小知識

A bite from this snake often causes little or no pain and almost no swelling or bleeding, which can make it hard to find the bite mark.1

Its venom is one of the most potent of any Indian snake, and the estimated lethal dose for a human is 2 to 3 mg.1

Its venom contains no clotting or tissue-destroying agents, which is why there is no local damage at the bite site.1

Neostigmine, a drug that works against cobra venom, does not work against common krait venom.1

It is mostly active at night and rarely meets people during the day.1

Its stable population has been helped by its ability to adapt to farmland and villages.1

破解迷思

迷思： A bite that does not hurt is harmless.

真相： The bite often causes little pain, but severe paralysis and breathing failure can follow. The lack of pain can give false reassurance.1

給毒液專家

學名: Bungarus caeruleus
類群: 眼鏡蛇、曼巴蛇和環蛇
家人: Elapidae2
排序: Squamata
各大洲: 亞洲
寶寶: It lays 5 to 15 eggs in leaf litter or burrows. The female guards the eggs until they hatch after about 60 days. Hatchlings are fully independent and already carry venom.1
對人的危險: 5 / 5: 致命3