第 0385 號，共 1 402 號

Terciopelo

Bothrops asper

名字的由來： Terciopelo is Spanish for 'velvet'.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。

蝮蛇

咬吃：肉

對人的危險: 致命世界上最危險的動物之一。

The terciopelo is a large pit viper, one of the biggest vipers in the world. It lives from north-east Mexico through Central America to northern South America. It is important to know because it causes more envenomated snakebites than any other snake in its range.1

分布在

North-east Mexico, Central America and northern South America, including Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Trinidad1

北美洲, 南美洲

首頁

It likes moist places at low to middle elevations, mostly tropical rainforest and evergreen forest, and it is often found near rivers and streams. It is most often met near people, livestock and pets, where it lives close to homes and farms.1

長度

1,2 m 到 2,5 m (3,9 ft 到 8,2 ft)1

體重

6 kg (13 lb)1

最高速度

大約 4,2 km/h（2,6 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It is a generalist that eats a wide range of animals, including rats, mice, frogs, lizards, birds, opossums and insects. It waits in leaf litter or under forest cover to ambush prey that come within range at night.1

Terciopelo 的照片 — Terciopelo。照片：thibaudaronson。 CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

Broad, flattened head that is clearly set apart from the neck1
Light to dark brown, olive, grey or nearly black body1
Often a yellowish zig-zag line on each side of the body1
Dark triangles with pale edges along the sides of the body1
Pale yellow, cream or whitish grey underside with dark blotches1

常被誤認為： Bothrops atrox is similar in colour, but it usually has yellow or rust-like tones and rectangular or trapezoidal blotches. The terciopelo is often more uniformly brown or grey, with the zig-zag pattern on its sides.1

毒液力量

咬

咬的時候，毒液會從毒牙或牙齒出來。

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 considered one of the most dangerous snakes in its range because it is large, has big fangs and a potent venom, and lives close to people. It is responsible for the most envenomated snakebites within its range. Bites usually happen only when the snake is cornered, pursued or threatened.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

When cornered or threatened, it may perform an S-shaped coiled display and can be very defensive, sometimes suddenly reversing direction to attack.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 2,5 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 14 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長大約跟一隻家貓一樣重可以在 86 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

Terciopelo 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)

Terciopelo 大約 4,2 km/h (2,6 mph)

一個正在走路的人 大約 5 km/h (3,1 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Juveniles can lure prey by waving brightly coloured tail tips. Only males have bright tail tips, though both sexes show this behaviour.1

It is one of the largest vipers in the world, and it is often called 'the ultimate pit-viper' by herpetologists.1

Females are much bigger than males. The two sexes are born the same size, but females grow much faster from about 7 to 12 months of age.1

Its home range is small for a pit viper, averaging between about 3.7 and 6 hectares.1

破解迷思

迷思： Fer-de-lance is the name of one single snake species.

真相： The name fer-de-lance has been used informally for several Bothrops species, including this one. Herpetologists now prefer the name terciopelo for Bothrops asper.1