第 0594 號，共 1 402 號

Green vine snake

Oxybelis fulgidus

無害對人無害。不用擔心。

咬吃：肉

The green vine snake is a slender, bright green snake that lives high in the trees of Central and northern South America. It hunts small animals from the branches, and it is rear-fanged, which means its venom is delivered from the back of the mouth.1

分布在

Mainland Latin America, from Mexico and Central America to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil1

北美洲, 南美洲

首頁

It is almost entirely tree-dwelling. It stays high above the ground on tree branches and in brush, where it moves quickly.1

長度

1,5 m 到 2 m (4,9 ft 到 6,6 ft)1

最高速度

大約 6,3 km/h（3,9 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It waits high in trees for small animals such as rodents, lizards, frogs and birds. It follows the prey, checks its smell with its tongue, then bites the head or back of the neck and lifts the animal 20–40 cm off the ground.1

Green vine snake 的照片 — Green vine snake。照片：Geoff Gallice。 CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Bright green on its back, with yellowish green underneath and on the upper lip1
A narrow yellowish-white stripe runs along each side of the belly and tail1
Very slender body with a long, pointed head and a very large mouth that reaches almost the whole length of the head1
Long green tongue, kept outside the mouth and moved up and down1
Long, delicate tail, used to hold on while reaching for prey1

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 saliva is toxic, and it works quickly on small animals, so they are stopped from fighting back. It has little to no effect on humans. In the rare reported bites, slight tingling or temporary numbness at the bite site has been reported.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 輕微跟蜜蜂螫差不多或更輕微。對人基本上無害。

Bites to people are rare, because the snake has to grab hold and chew its saliva into the skin, which most people will not allow. Serious allergic reactions are possible, as with any venomous animal, and most allergies are not known before a bite.1

如果牠咬人

清洗咬傷處，讓傷者保持冷靜，並且就醫。有些種類（例如非洲樹蛇）可能在幾個小時後才致命。

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 11 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長可以在 57 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

Green vine 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？

一個正在走路的人 大約 5 km/h (3,1 mph)

Green vine snake 大約 6,3 km/h (3,9 mph)

騎腳踏車的小朋友 大約 12 km/h (7,5 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Its tongue is thought to work like a cat's whiskers, helping it sense its way through branches and brush as it moves quickly.1

After biting, it coils around its prey. It does not squeeze the prey the way a constrictor does, but the coil helps to hold it.1

It is rear-fanged, with two larger but blunted, peg-like teeth at the upper back of the mouth. These teeth have grooves on the sides that deliver its saliva.1

After swallowing a meal, it usually moves to the highest point of a tree to rest.1

In captivity it readily takes mice, and some are large enough to eat rats, which makes it a prized choice among reptile collectors.1

破解迷思

迷思： That the bite of this snake is dangerous to people.

真相： Its venom has little to no effect on humans. It is fast-acting on small animals, but bites to people are rare and usually cause only slight tingling or temporary numbness.1