第 0375 號，共 1 402 號

Spider-tailed horned viper

Pseudocerastes urarachnoides

名字的由來： The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek words meaning tail, spider and 'like', because of its spider-like tail tip.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 spider-tailed horned viper is a venomous snake with a tail tip that looks like a spider. It lives only in the mountains of western Iran and the nearby eastern part of Iraq. It wiggles its tail to lure birds close enough to catch.1

分布在

Western Iran and the eastern part of Iraq, near the Iran-Iraq border, mainly on the western side of the Zagros Mountains1

亞洲

首頁

It lives at higher elevations, mostly on rocky ground made of gypsum, and prefers deep cracks and holes in the rock. These spots trap humidity and moisture during hot summers. During the day it is most often found in the shade of a shrub.1

長度

60 cm (2 ft)3

一般成體大小

最高速度

大約 3,4 km/h（2,1 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It eats birds, including the Isabelline shrike and several warbler species. It waves the tip of its tail in a figure-of-eight pattern to lure insect-eating birds within striking range.1

Spider-tailed horned viper 的照片 — Spider-tailed horned viper。照片：Omid Mozaffari。 Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

The scales above each eye rise up into small horns.1
About 16 to 17 scales sit between the horns.1
The bulb-shaped tail tip is bordered by long, drooping scales that look like spider legs.1
The scales on the body are rougher than those of other species in its genus.1
It has 15 pairs of subcaudal scales (the scales on the underside of the tail).1

常被誤認為： It looks very similar to other Pseudocerastes vipers in the region, especially around the head. The unusual, spider-like tail tip is the feature that sets it apart.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 mainly acts as a cytotoxin, which destroys cells across a wide variety of cell types, and it has minor neurotoxic effects, which attack the nerves. It is a procoagulant, meaning it makes blood clot, and reports describe clotting in about 13 seconds. The venom affects birds most strongly, and also affects mammals and amphibians. A 2021 study by Brouw found it has a coagulant effect on humans and affects Factor X, a protein needed for blood clotting.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。

No human bite has ever been recorded in the wild. How severe its effects would be on people is not known.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 3 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）

Spider-tailed 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)

Spider-tailed horned viper 大約 3,4 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 tail is moved in a figure-of-eight pattern, and it moves faster when birds are nearby. Field studies have confirmed that this is a lure and not random movement.1

Footage of it luring migrating birds appears in the Asia episode of the BBC series Seven Worlds, One Planet, narrated by David Attenborough.1

A digested lark was found in the stomach of one of the specimens used to describe the species, supporting the idea that the tail lures birds.1

Its tail tip is a form of aggressive mimicry, where a predator looks like something else to attract its prey.1

Several other snakes, such as the sidewinder and the green tree python, also use the tip of their tail as a lure, but none has the elongated scales that look like arthropod legs.1

A specimen collected in 1968 was first identified as a Persian horned viper. It was only recognised as a separate species and described in 2006.1

破解迷思

迷思： The strange tail tip was caused by a parasite, a deformity or a tumour.

真相： Early specimens were thought to have a damaged tail tip. In fact, the spider-like tail is a natural feature that the snake uses to lure birds.1