第 0082 號，共 1 402 號

Eastern coral snake

Micrurus fulvius

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。

咬吃：肉

The eastern coral snake is a highly venomous snake with bright rings of red, yellow and black. It lives in the southeastern United States, including all of Florida. Its bright colours warn predators to keep away, and it is one of the snakes that people most need to recognise.1

分布在

Southeastern United States, including all of Florida, north to the southern coast of North Carolina1

北美洲

首頁

It lives in upland hammocks, scrub, pine flatwoods and dry, open, bushy ground, often on sandy soil. Coral snakes spend most of their time underground or sheltering under objects, so people rarely see them.1

長度

18 cm 到 1,3 m (7,1 in 到 4,2 ft)1

最高速度

大約 4,9 km/h（3 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It eats mainly other snakes and lizards, and also eats mammals, birds, frogs, fish and insects. It bites the head of its prey first to inject venom, then holds on until the prey is paralysed before swallowing it.1

Eastern coral snake 的照片 — Eastern coral snake。照片：unknown。 CC0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Wide red and black rings are separated by narrow yellow rings all along the body.1
The head is black from the snout to just behind the eyes, with a yellow band behind the eyes.1
The red rings are usually speckled with black.1
Adults are usually less than 80 cm long, including the tail.1

常被誤認為： The scarlet snake and the scarlet kingsnake are nonvenomous mimics with similar colours. Kingsnakes and the scarlet snake are helpful predators of rats and mice, so the difference matters.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？

The venom is a potent neurotoxin, which attacks the nerves. In humans, symptoms can include local pain, slurred speech, double vision, weakness and paralysis, and in severe cases breathing can fail. An estimated 5 mg of venom can be lethal to humans.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。

Bites and deaths are very rare. Two deaths were documented in the 1950s, and one more has been reported since antivenin became available in the 1960s, the most recent in 2006. The snake is secretive and reluctant to bite; an estimated 40% of bites inject venom, though a 1987 study found 75%.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 tries to escape, and if it cannot, it may hide its head under its coils, mimic the head with its tail, move erratically or feign death.1

如果牠咬人

The most recent victim died after failing to seek proper medical attention, so anyone bitten should get medical help straight away. Antivenom is available.1
讓傷者保持不動和冷靜，並趕快送醫院，就算咬傷看起來很小也一樣：症狀可能幾個小時後才出現。

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 2,5 隻家貓從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 7 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長可以在 73 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

Eastern coral 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？

一隻陸龜 大約 0,3 km/h (0,19 mph)

Eastern coral snake 大約 4,9 km/h (3 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 adult's venom can kill up to five adult humans, but the snake cannot release all of it in a single bite.1

Unlike New World pit vipers, the coral snake cannot control how much venom it injects.1

Males mature 11 to 16 months after hatching, while females take about 26 months.1

Coral snakes are mostly active during the day, and night sightings are rare.1

The range could expand up to 200 km northward because of climate change, according to future models.1

破解迷思

迷思： "Red and yellow, kill a fellow" is a reliable way to tell a venomous coral snake from a harmless mimic.

真相： The rhyme is a folk saying that only applies to snakes in the southern United States, and it does not work anywhere else.1

給毒液專家

學名: Micrurus fulvius
類群: 珊瑚蛇
家人: Elapidae2
排序: Squamata
各大洲: 北美洲
寶寶: Females lay between 3 and 12 eggs, usually in June, which hatch around September, and there is no parental care.1
牠在野外的狀況: Least Concern globally (IUCN, 2007), but of significant conservation concern locally, for example Endangered in North Carolina1
對人的危險: 4 / 5: 非常危險3