第 0083 號，共 1 402 號

Texas coral snake

Micrurus tener

名字的由來： The Latin name tener means "soft or delicate", referring to the snake's graceful features.1

需要看醫生很少致命，但被咬了需要看醫生。

珊瑚蛇

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 Texas coral snake is a venomous snake with bright black, yellow and red rings. It lives in the southern and southwestern United States and in parts of northeastern and central Mexico. Its bite can cause paralysis, so it is important to recognise it and keep well away.1

分布在

Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas in the USA; Guanajuato, Morelos, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas in Mexico1

北美洲

首頁

It spends most of its time hiding in leaf litter and under logs. It can be seen on the surface after heavy rains, when night-time temperatures rise above 26 °C (78 °F).1

長度

1,2 m (4 ft)1

最高速度

大約 4,9 km/h（3 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

Its main food is other snakes, mostly small burrowing species, and it also preys on venomous snakes such as copperheads. It sometimes eats small lizards, and rarely eats rodents. It is cannibalistic.1

Texas coral snake 的照片 — Texas coral snake。照片：The original uploader was Dawson at English Wikipedia.。 CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

Black, yellow and red rings, with the rings running onto the belly.1
Smooth scales, a rounded head and round pupils.1
Somewhat larger and stouter than the eastern coral snake.1
Males are typically smaller than females.1
Shy and secretive, and mostly active at night.1

常被誤認為： Nonvenomous snakes copy the coral snake's colours as a form of Batesian mimicry. In the United States, the venomous coral snakes can be told apart by red rings touching yellow rings. The common rhyme "red and yellow, kill a fellow" is not always accurate because colours vary, and relying on it is dangerous.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？

The snake has a pair of fixed, grooved fangs at the front of the upper jaw, and venom is injected through them. Its venom contains a neurotoxin, which attacks the nerves, and a myotoxin, which damages muscle. Bite victims may experience paralysis or myolysis (muscle breakdown), which can be potentially lethal.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。

Before antivenom was available, the fatality rate of coral snake bites was estimated at 10%. Deaths were mainly caused by breathing or heart failure from paralysis. A single bite can deliver 10–12 mg of dry venom, about twice the lethal dose for an adult human of 5–7 mg. Many bites deliver no venom at all, known as dry bites.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？

When grabbed suddenly, or sometimes just when touched, it may thrash about, swing around and bite.1

如果牠咬人

Remove any jewellery from a bitten limb, in case of severe swelling. Wrap the bite area moderately tightly in a wide cloth, and move the bitten limb as little as possible. Take the bite victim to the nearest hospital as soon as possible for advanced treatment, such as antivenom.1
讓傷者保持不動和冷靜，並趕快送醫院，就算咬傷看起來很小也一樣：症狀可能幾個小時後才出現。

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