第 0350 號，共 1 402 號

Saharan horned viper

Cerastes cerastes

名字的由來： It is named after the pair of horn-like scales above each eye.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 Saharan horned viper is a venomous snake that lives in the deserts of North Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. It has a pair of small, horn-like scales above its eyes. Its venom can cause serious harm, so it is important to know what it looks like.1

分布在

Deserts of Northern Africa, parts of the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant1

非洲, 亞洲

首頁

It prefers dry, sandy areas with a few rocky outcrops, but avoids coarse sand. It is sometimes found around oases and up to 1,500 metres above sea level. It prefers cooler places, where annual average temperatures are 20 °C or less.1

長度

30 cm 到 85 cm (1 ft 到 2,8 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 mainly eats lizards, especially geckos, small rodents and birds. It is an ambush predator that lies buried in sand next to rocks or under vegetation. It sometimes travels long distances at night to find prey.1

Saharan horned viper 的照片 — Saharan horned viper。照片：Bernard DUPONT。 CC BY-SA 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

A pair of horn-like scales sits above each eye, although some individuals have no horns.1
Its colour is yellowish, pale grey, pinkish, reddish or pale brown, and almost always matches the sand or soil where it lives.1
A row of dark, semi-rectangular blotches runs along its back, and the belly is white.1
Its tail is usually thin and may have a black tip.1
It moves by sidewinding, pressing its body into the sand and leaving whole-body impressions.1

常被誤認為： Its close relative Cerastes gasperettii was once considered a subspecies of this snake. The Saharan horned viper has a larger head relative to its body and horns are more common in it. When threatened, it rubs its coils together to make a rasping noise, which is similar to the sound made by snakes of the genus Echis, so sound alone does not identify it.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 reported to act much like the venom of Echis snakes. A bite usually causes swelling, bleeding (haemorrhage), tissue death (necrosis), nausea, vomiting and blood in the urine. A high level of phospholipase A2, an enzyme that damages cells, may cause heart and muscle damage.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。

The estimated lethal dose of venom for a human is 40–50 mg of dried venom. Its venom is strong enough to cause serious harm in people.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

If threatened, it forms a C-shaped posture and rapidly rubs its coils together, producing a rasping noise. It is otherwise fairly placid.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 1,5 隻家貓從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 5 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）

Saharan horned 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)

Saharan horned 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 venom is strong enough that an estimated 40–50 mg could be lethal to a human.1

Its scales are strongly keeled, which is what makes its rasping warning sound.1

When it moves by sidewinding, its body leaves impressions in the sand that can be used to count its ventral scales.1

In ancient Egypt, a hieroglyph of this snake was used for the letter f, based on the species name ft.1

Females grow larger than males, and males have larger heads and eyes.1

破解迷思

迷思： All Saharan horned vipers have horns above their eyes.

真相： Hornless individuals do occur, although many have the horns.1

給毒液專家

學名: Cerastes cerastes
類群: 蝰蛇
家人: Viperidae2
排序: Squamata
各大洲: 非洲, 亞洲
寶寶: It lays eggs, 8–23 at a time, under rocks and in abandoned rodent burrows. The eggs hatch after 50 to 80 days.1
對人的危險: 3 / 5: 嚴重3