第 0386 號，共 1 402 號

Common lancehead

Bothrops atrox

名字的由來： The name fer-de-lance comes from French and means 'head of a lance' or 'spearhead'. The Spanish name barba amarilla means 'yellow beard', after the pale-yellow chin.1

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。

蝮蛇

咬吃：肉

對人的危險: 致命世界上最危險的動物之一。

The common lancehead is a highly venomous pit viper that lives in the tropical lowlands of northern South America and on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. It is one of the most common pit vipers in its range and is not endangered. Its venom disrupts blood clotting, which makes its bite especially serious.1

分布在

Tropical lowlands of northern South America east of the Andes, and the Caribbean island of Trinidad1

南美洲

首頁

It is mostly found on the ground and prefers wet forests. In Trinidad it lives from sea level up to 940 m. It is also met in coffee and banana plantations, where it hunts rodents and where workers are often bitten.1

長度

75 cm 到 1,6 m (2,5 ft 到 5,3 ft)1

最高速度

大約 3,9 km/h（2,4 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It mainly eats small mammals such as rodents and opossums, and birds, but also takes frogs, lizards, smaller snakes, fish, crayfish, centipedes and tarantulas. Larger prey is struck and released, then tracked down by its scent trail.1

Common lancehead 的照片 — Common lancehead。照片：Alexandre S. Michelotto。 CC BY-SA 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Ground colour is olive, brown, tan, grey or yellow, and rarely rusty.1
The body pattern is a series of blotches that often fuse into bands. The markings are X-like, which is why some local names refer to the letter X.1
The chin is pale yellow, and a dark stripe runs from behind the eye to the corner of the mouth.1
The irises are gold or bronze, and the tongue is black.1
Adults usually measure 75 to 125 cm in total length and are moderately heavy-bodied.1

常被誤認為： It is often confused with Bothrops asper, which was once included in this species. Most authorities now consider B. asper to be a separate species. This confusion also makes reports of its maximum size unclear.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 haemorrhagic, meaning it damages the lining of blood vessels and uses up the substances that allow blood to clot. Symptoms can include severe bleeding, kidney failure, abnormal clotting, blisters and necrosis (death of body tissue). Bleeding in the brain can also occur. Recovery from the clotting problem has been seen 14 to 30 hours after a bite.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。

The bite is serious and can be fatal. Plantation workers are often bitten. Juvenile snakes have more lethal venom that kills more quickly, and people bitten by young snakes are more likely to develop the clotting problem. In a case reported in the Brazilian Amazon, the patient died of a stroke even after antivenom was given. A Mexican polyvalent antivenom tested against it had no effect on the clotting problem.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

It is easily agitated, and it can lie camouflaged for hours, nearly undetectable, then strike at high speed.1

如果牠咬人

讓傷者保持不動和冷靜，讓被咬的手臂或腿保持在和心臟一樣的高度，取下戒指和緊身的東西，並趕快送醫院。

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

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

跟 3 隻家貓從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 9 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長可以在 92 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

Common lancehead 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？

一隻陸龜 大約 0,3 km/h (0,19 mph)

Common lancehead 大約 3,9 km/h (2,4 mph)

一個正在走路的人 大約 5 km/h (3,1 mph)

值得知道

小知識

An enzyme called reptilase, or batroxobin, is taken from its venom and used in modern medical laboratories to measure fibrinogen levels and blood clotting. The enzyme is not affected by heparin.1

Although it is mostly terrestrial, it is an excellent swimmer and will climb trees when needed to reach prey.1

Females with developing embryos move in and out of sunlight to keep themselves and the embryos at a constant temperature.1

Venom yield averages 124 milligrams, but can reach 342 milligrams.1

Despite the large-scale destruction of rainforests, it is among the most numerous and common of pit vipers.1

給毒液專家

學名: Bothrops atrox
類群: 蝮蛇
家人: Viperidae2
排序: Squamata
各大洲: 南美洲
寶寶: It gives birth to live young, up to 80 at once, with an average of about 60 per litter in equatorial regions after a gestation of three to four months.1
牠在野外的狀況: Not endangered1
對人的危險: 5 / 5: 致命3