第 0520 號，共 1 402 號

Mojave rattlesnake

Crotalus scutulatus

名字的由來： The name comes from the Mojave Desert, although little of the snake's range lies inside that desert.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。

跟其他響尾蛇完全不一樣：牠有神經毒液，而且會堅守陣地不逃走。咬傷看起來可能很小，呼吸困難卻會在幾個小時後才出現。就算咬傷看起來很輕微，也一定要去醫院。

響尾蛇

咬吃：肉

對人的危險: 非常危險如果沒有治療，牠可能會害死一個人。

The Mojave rattlesnake is a venomous pit viper that lives in the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Its venom is among the most studied of any rattlesnake, and it varies a lot from one population to another. Knowing how to recognise it helps people in its range stay safe.1

分布在

Southwestern USA (California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Texas) and mainland Mexico, including Sonora and Chihuahua1

北美洲

首頁

It lives in broad desert valleys and lower mountain slopes, usually in sparse vegetation such as creosote, mesquite, cacti and Joshua trees. It avoids dense plant cover and very rocky ground. In hot weather and in winter it shelters in burrows dug by rodents, tortoises and kit foxes.1

長度

1,2 m (4,1 ft)1

最高速度

大約 3,7 km/h（2,3 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It is an ambush predator, waiting for prey and then striking. It mostly eats small rodents and lizards.1

Mojave rattlesnake 的照片 — Mojave rattlesnake。照片：Lvthn13 at English Wikipedia (Original text: Self-Created)。 Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

Has a row of large diamond-shaped blotches along the back, without the dark speckling found on the Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake.1
The diamonds usually lack the white edges seen on most Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnakes.1
The tail has pale and dark rings, and the dark rings are often narrower than the pale ones.1
The rattle is usually yellow and black, or entirely yellow.1
Its back colour ranges from green to brown, grey or yellowish, so colour alone is not a reliable guide.1

常被誤認為： It closely resembles the Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake, which lives in the same areas. The Mojave rattlesnake has no dark speckling on its back, usually lacks white edges on the diamonds, has a facial stripe that bends toward the neck rather than meeting the mouth, and usually has a yellow or bicoloured rattle rather than a black one. No single trait reliably separates the two.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 comes in two main types. Venom A contains Mojave toxin, a neurotoxic venom that attacks the nerves and can cause delayed respiratory paralysis, meaning the muscles used for breathing fail, with little or no local tissue damage. Venom B has no Mojave toxin and instead contains tissue-destroying enzymes called metalloproteinases.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。

For decades this snake has been described as one of the deadliest rattlesnakes, and some sources call it the most dangerous snake in the United States. The danger depends on the population, because the neurotoxic venom is not found everywhere in its range. Some animals in between produce a mix of both venom types.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

It is shy and tends to avoid confrontation, but it will strike and bite vigorously when disturbed, especially if surprised or if there is no nearby vegetation or burrow to escape into.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 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 97 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

Mojave rattlesnake 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)

Mojave rattlesnake 大約 3,7 km/h (2,3 mph)

一個正在走路的人 大約 5 km/h (3,1 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Its venom varies so much between populations that one area was found where the venom is much less lethal to laboratory mice than elsewhere in its range.1

Males can grow to a maximum of about 124 cm, making them larger than females.1

破解迷思

迷思： Every Mojave rattlesnake bite is extraordinarily deadly.

真相： The reputation for deadliness comes mainly from the neurotoxic venom, which is found in most populations but not all. Venom from some populations is non-neurotoxic and mainly destroys tissue.1

給毒液專家

學名: Crotalus scutulatus
類群: 響尾蛇
家人: Viperidae2
排序: Squamata
各大洲: 北美洲
寶寶: It bears live young, usually between 2 and 17 (average about eight), from July through September.1
牠在野外的狀況: Least Concern (IUCN Red List)1
對人的危險: 4 / 5: 非常危險3