第 0562 號，共 1 402 號

Pygmy rattlesnake

Sistrurus miliarius

名字的由來： The specific name miliarius comes from Latin and means millet or millet-like, probably describing the blotched patterns on its body.1

只是會痛會痛，但不會對你造成嚴重傷害。

響尾蛇

咬吃：肉

對人的危險: 疼痛可能會非常痛，但幾乎從來不會很嚴重。

The pygmy rattlesnake is a small, venomous snake that lives in the southeastern United States. It is the smallest rattlesnake found on the North American continent. Its venom is strongly tissue-damaging, but the snake makes so little that a bite is unlikely to be fatal to an adult.1

分布在

Southeastern United States, from southern and eastern North Carolina south through peninsular Florida and west to East Texas and Oklahoma1

北美洲

首頁

It lives in flatwoods, sandhills, longleaf pine savannahs, mixed scrub oak forests and floodplains, and is also found near lakes and marshes. It does not dig its own burrows. It uses holes dug by small rodents or gopher tortoises, and it prefers densely vegetated areas for cover.1

長度

40 cm 到 79 cm (1,3 ft 到 2,6 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 eats small mammals, birds, lizards, insects, frogs and other snakes, and also giant desert centipedes. Young snakes lure skinks by waving the tail, while adults wait motionless in a coil for days at a time.1

Pygmy rattlesnake 的照片 — Pygmy rattlesnake。照片：unknown。 Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

Small but bulky in width, usually 40 to 60 cm long including the tail1
Dorsal pattern of oval or roughly circular spots with somewhat regular edges1
Flank spots are mostly round and not much taller than they are wide1
Usually 23 rows of dorsal scales at midbody1
Young snakes may be paler or more vividly marked, and have a yellow tail tip. The rattle is tiny and gives only a faint buzz that is heard from a few feet away1

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 damages cells, and it is strongly haemorrhagic, which means it causes bleeding. The venom is tissue-toxic but contains no neurotoxins, which attack the nerves. The snake produces only a small amount of venom and contains substantial amounts of serotonin and related compounds.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 疼痛可能會非常痛，但幾乎從來不會很嚴重。

The snake produces too little venom to be likely to deliver a fatal bite to a human adult.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

Some individuals are very aggressive and strike furiously, while others are lethargic and do not rattle at all, and many are reluctant to bite.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 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）

Pygmy 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)

Pygmy rattlesnake 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 venom was the basis for the drug eptifibatide, which is used to prevent clotting during a heart attack.1

It is the smallest rattlesnake found on the North American continent.1

Its rattle is unusually small, which may show the early stages of how rattles evolved.1

Snake fungal disease has risen sharply in pygmy rattlesnakes over the past decade and is a major cause of death, though some snakes have recovered in the field.1

Females may give birth to live young even while infected with snake fungal disease.1

破解迷思

迷思： Its bite is deadly to people.

真相： The snake makes so little venom that a bite is unlikely to be fatal to an adult human.1

給毒液專家

學名: Sistrurus miliarius
類群: 響尾蛇
家人: Viperidae2
排序: Squamata
各大洲: 北美洲
寶寶: It gives birth to live young, usually 3 to 13 per litter, between July and September.1
牠在野外的狀況: Least concern (IUCN Red List)1
對人的危險: 2 / 5: 疼痛3