第 0524 號，共 1 402 號

South American rattlesnake

Crotalus durissus

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。

咬吃：肉

The South American rattlesnake is a large, highly venomous pit viper. It lives across much of South America, except the Andes Mountains, and also on some Caribbean islands. It is the most widely spread member of its genus, which is why it matters to people in so many places.1

分布在

South America except the Andes, including Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay; also some Caribbean islands, including Aruba1

南美洲

首頁

It prefers savanna and semi-arid areas, and is found in several types of scrub and seasonal forest. In the Chaco region of Paraguay, it lives in the drier, sandier areas.1

長度

1,9 m (6,2 ft)1

最高速度

大約 4 km/h（2,5 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It eats mainly rodents, which are abundant and available all year in most of its range. In some regions it also eats lizards of the Teiidae family.1

South American rattlesnake 的照片 — South American rattlesnake。照片：Leandro Avelar。 CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

Two distinct stripes start at the base of the head, and the colour between the lines is lighter than the stripes.1
Body colour and pattern vary, but most have 18 to 32 dark diamond or rhombic spots along the back.1
The head has a dark brown bar at the top and a dark band behind the eye.1
The tail is usually grey, with dark, faint crossed bands.1
The belly is white or yellowish with light grey spots, getting darker towards 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 neurotoxins, which attack the nerves, and myotoxins, which damage muscle. These cause progressive paralysis, including impaired or lost vision, hearing problems, drooping eyelids and weakness in the neck muscles, which can become so limp that the head appears broken. Breathing can eventually be stopped by paralysis, and the muscle damage can cause dark urine.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。

It is a highly venomous snake. The mortality rate is 72% for bite cases without specific serum treatment, and 11% for cases with it. Acute kidney failure is considered the main cause of death.1

好消息：醫生有藥（抗毒血清）或治療方法。1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

It is highly alert and gives little warning before it strikes, but it is seldom aggressive towards people.1

如果牠咬人

Specific serum treatment (antivenom) greatly lowers the death rate, so a bite needs urgent hospital care to give it.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 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可以在 90 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

South American 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)

South American rattlesnake 大約 4 km/h (2,5 mph)

一個正在走路的人 大約 5 km/h (3,1 mph)

值得知道

小知識

The lethal dose for a 60 kg human is possibly 18 mg, while a snake's venom yield is 20 to 100 mg.1

Crotoxin, a neurotoxin, makes up about 48.5% to 89.4% of the venom proteins in one subspecies, though it is typically 60% to 70%.1

It is the most widely distributed member of its genus, and seven subspecies are currently recognised.1

It is more active at dusk and in the early hours of the morning.1

Males compete for access to females from the end of summer, with mating in autumn and the young born the following spring or summer.1

破解迷思

迷思： Yellow venom means the bite damages blood and tissue, and white venom means it attacks the nerves.

真相： Venom colour does not determine the type. Colour depends on pigments in the venom, not on whether it is haemorrhagic or neurotoxic.1

給毒液專家

學名: Crotalus durissus
類群: 響尾蛇
家人: Viperidae2
排序: Squamata
各大洲: 南美洲
寶寶: It gives birth to live young (ovoviviparous), usually four to eight at a time. In Roraima, Brazil, gestation has been reported to last five months, with up to 14 young.1
對人的危險: 4 / 5: 非常危險3