第 0359 號，共 1 402 號

Mount Kenya bush viper

Atheris desaixi

名字的由來： The scientific name Atheris desaixi honours Frank DeSaix, an American Peace Corps volunteer who collected the first specimen.1

需要看醫生很少致命，但被咬了需要看醫生。

蝰蛇

咬吃：肉

對人的危險: 嚴重被咬了需要看醫生。死亡案例非常罕見。

The Mount Kenya bush viper is a venomous snake with a striking black and yellow pattern. It lives only in Kenya, in two small, separate areas of forest. Its bite can cause serious swelling and bleeding problems, so it is important to know it.1

分布在

Kenya only: forests near Chuka on south-eastern Mount Kenya, and near Igembe in the northern Nyambeni range1

非洲

首頁

It lives in dense rain forest at about 1,600 metres above sea level. Its records come from clearings and pathways in thick foliage, about 2 metres above the ground. The air there is very humid.1

長度

40 cm 到 70 cm (1,3 ft 到 2,3 ft)1

最高速度

大約 3,3 km/h（2,1 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It is an opportunist and preys on amphibians, rodents and small birds.1

Mount Kenya bush viper 的照片 — Mount Kenya bush viper。照片：United States Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine。 Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

Ground colour is greenish-black to charcoal-black, with each scale tipped in yellow or yellowish-green, giving a speckled look.1
Some scales form a series of loops along the sides, which may join into zigzag patterns towards the back.1
The underside is yellow near the front, fading to purplish-black towards the rear and under the tail.1
Young snakes are mainly yellow with a white-tipped tail. They darken as they grow and reach adult colours at about 30 cm.1
Adults are usually 40 to 60 cm long, including the tail.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 contains powerful anticoagulants, which are substances that stop blood from clotting properly. A bite causes significant swelling and pain. Poor clotting may be severe enough to need blood transfusions.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 嚴重被咬了需要看醫生。死亡案例非常罕見。

In the one recorded bite, a Kenyan collector was bitten on a finger by an adult snake. The bite caused significant swelling and pain, and he made a full recovery. The snakes are relatively large for their genus, so a bite should be taken seriously.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

When captured, it strikes readily and struggles vigorously. It may also give a threat display, rubbing its coils and keeled scales together to make a loud hiss.1

如果牠咬人

Because the venom can stop blood clotting, any bite should be treated as serious and needs urgent medical care. In the one recorded bite, a tourniquet was applied and an unknown antivenin was given, but the antivenin probably made no difference.1
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 4 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長可以在 110 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

Mount Kenya bush viper 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)

Mount Kenya bush viper 大約 3,3 km/h (2,1 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 coloration gives it excellent camouflage in the forest, so it is very hard to spot.1

Its speckled, looped pattern changes from juvenile yellow to adult black and yellow as it grows.1

It is arboreal, which means it lives in trees and bushes, moving slowly and deliberately among the branches.1

Captive snakes soon calm down, and their threat display disappears.1

給毒液專家

學名: Atheris desaixi
類群: 蝰蛇
家人: Viperidae2
排序: Squamata
各大洲: 非洲
寶寶: It gives birth to live young. One recorded female gave birth to 13 offspring in August, each measuring 17 to 21 cm.1
牠在野外的狀況: Endangered on the IUCN Red List (as of 2019). Listed in Appendix II of CITES, so international trade is regulated by permit.1
對人的危險: 3 / 5: 嚴重3