第 0392 號，共 1 402 號

Urutu

Bothrops alternatus

名字的由來： The scientific name alternatus is Latin for "alternating", apparently because of the staggered markings along its body. The common name urutu refers to the crescent markings on its body.1

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。

蝮蛇

咬

對人的危險: 非常危險如果沒有治療，牠可能會害死一個人。

The urutu is a large, stout pit viper from South America. It is highly venomous and is an important cause of snakebites in the areas where it lives. Its body has a striking pattern of dark crescent-shaped markings.1

分布在

Southeastern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina1

南美洲

首頁

It lives in tropical and semitropical forests, temperate deciduous forests, marshes, swamps, riverbanks, grasslands and cerrado. It is also common in sugarcane plantations, and it is usually absent from dry environments.1

長度

80 cm 到 1,7 m (2,6 ft 到 5,5 ft)1

最高速度

大約 3,8 km/h（2,4 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

Urutu 的照片 — Urutu。照片：K. Zyskowski & Y. Bereshpolova。 CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Large and stout, most adults are 80 to 120 cm long.1
The top of the head is usually chocolate brown to almost black, with tan to white markings.1
The body has 22 to 28 dark brown to black markings, each bordered in cream or white. Some look like a cross, and some look like a headphone shape.1
The pattern on the tail forms a zigzag.1
A dark brown to black stripe runs along the underside from the neck to the tail tip.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 urutu is highly venomous. Its venom mainly contains phospholipase A2, snake venom metalloproteinases, snake venom serine proteases and C-type lectins. In one study of 32 patients, all had local pain and swelling, 97% had prolonged blood clotting, 41% had bleeding (usually from the gums), 32% had blistering and 9% had necrosis (death of tissue).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。

Bites are an important cause of snakebite in its range and often cause severe local tissue damage, but they are rarely fatal. In a survey of 6,601 snakebite cases in Central and South America, 384 were attributed to this species, and 8 of those (2%) were fatal. Some bites have caused gangrene that required amputation, and in 2004 a 44-year-old woman died of a brain bleed after being bitten at home.1

好消息：醫生有藥（抗毒血清）或治療方法。1

如果牠咬人

In one Brazilian hospital study, all 32 bitten patients were treated with specific antivenin (antivenom), and none of them died.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 3 隻家貓從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 9 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長可以在 95 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

Urutu 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)

Urutu 大約 3,8 km/h (2,4 mph)

一個正在走路的人 大約 5 km/h (3,1 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Genome sequencing found 59 toxin genes from 16 toxin families.1

Its verified maximum length is 169 cm, although reports of over 2 m exist.1

Some unusual individuals have dark stripes running the full length of the body.1

In some specimens the pattern is so concentrated that the markings and the gaps between them are the same colour.1

Females are significantly longer and heavier than males.1

破解迷思

迷思： The bite of this snake is almost always deadly.

真相： Bites are rarely fatal, although they often cause severe local tissue damage. In one survey, only 2% of cases attributed to this species were fatal.1

給毒液專家

學名: Bothrops alternatus
類群: 蝮蛇
家人: Viperidae2
排序: Squamata
各大洲: 南美洲
寶寶: It gives birth to live young, with captive females producing 3 to 12 young and some females producing up to 24. The newborns look like adults but are more brightly coloured, and they can strike venomously from birth.1
對人的危險: 4 / 5: 非常危險3