第 0320 號，共 1 402 號

Puff adder

Bitis arietans

名字的由來： The specific name arietans means "striking violently", from the Latin word arieto.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。

蝰蛇

咬吃：肉

對人的危險: 致命世界上最危險的動物之一。

The puff adder is a large, stout viper that lives across most of Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. It is one of the most dangerous snakes in Africa because it lives in places where many people live and work, and it has very potent venom. Its camouflage hides it well, so it is easy to step near without seeing it.1

分布在

Africa except the Sahara and rainforest regions; also Morocco, western Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula as far north as Ta'if1

非洲, 亞洲

首頁

It lives in savannahs and grasslands, and is most often found in rocky grassland. It basks by footpaths and in low bushes, which is where people often meet it.1

長度

1,9 m (6,2 ft)1

體重

6 kg (13 lb)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 mostly hunts at night and rarely searches actively for food. Instead, it waits in ambush for prey to pass by. Its prey includes rodents, birds, amphibians, lizards, other snakes and tortoises, and occasionally small deer.1

Puff adder 的照片 — Puff adder。照片：Bernard DUPONT。 CC BY-SA 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Stout, heavy body. Usually about 1.0 m long including the tail.1
Two dark bands across the top of the head, and two dark bars running from each eye down the sides of the head.1
Back is straw yellow, light brown, orange or reddish brown, with 18–22 dark brown to black chevron-shaped bands running down the back and tail.1
In some populations, the body is heavily flecked with brown and black, giving a dusty-brown or blackish look.1
Males from highland East Africa and the Western Cape of South Africa often have a striking yellow-and-black pattern.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 cytotoxic, which means it destroys body tissue. Bites cause severe pain, swelling, bleeding under the skin and, in serious cases, tissue death that can spread and lead to gangrene. Other symptoms include shock, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and periods of semi-consciousness. Death can occur in about 25 hours from a dose of around 100 mg, and deaths usually come 2–4 days after a bite from complications.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。

It is responsible for more snakebite deaths in Africa than any other African snake. This is due to its wide range, common presence near people, large size, potent venom and aggressive temperament. Deaths are uncommon in untreated cases, but severe bites can be fatal, with one report giving a 52% mortality rate. Most deaths are linked to poor medical care.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

When disturbed, it hisses loudly and continuously, coils tightly with the front of its body in a taut S shape, and may back away towards cover before striking suddenly and fast.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？

牠有多重？

跟 1,5 隻家貓一樣重

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大約跟一隻家貓一樣重可以在 97 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

Puff adder 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)

Puff adder 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

A female in a Czech zoo gave birth to 156 young, the largest litter recorded for any snake species.1

Its fangs are long and can penetrate deeply, and the force of its strike can kill prey by physical trauma alone.1

A large adult can produce between 150 and 350 mg of venom at a time, with a maximum of 750 mg.1

Dogs and meerkats, which hunt by scent, find it hard to detect because of a form of olfactory crypsis, meaning it hides its scent.1

It is one of the most toxic vipers based on LD50 (the dose that kills half of test animals in a study).1

It is a good swimmer and climber, and one specimen was found 4.6 m above the ground in a dense tree.1

破解迷思

迷思： Puff adders are fast, aggressive snakes that chase people.

真相： They are normally sluggish and rely on camouflage for protection. They strike when disturbed, but they do not usually pursue people.1

給毒液專家

學名: Bitis arietans
類群: 蝰蛇
家人: Viperidae2
排序: Squamata
各大洲: 非洲, 亞洲
寶寶: It gives birth to live young in large numbers, usually 50–60, with litters of over 80 reported. Newborns are 12.5–17.5 cm long.1
對人的危險: 5 / 5: 致命3