第 0339 號，共 1 402 號

West African carpet viper

Echis ocellatus

名字的由來： The scientific name ocellatus refers to the distinctive series of eye-spots, called ocelli, that runs the length of its body.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。

蝰蛇

咬吃：肉

對人的危險: 致命世界上最危險的動物之一。

The West African carpet viper is a small, highly venomous snake that lives in the savanna of West Africa. Its bite is one of the most dangerous of any snake in Africa. It is known for its row of eye-spots and its aggressive, alarm-like behaviour when threatened.1

分布在

West Africa: Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, southern Niger and Nigeria1

非洲

首頁

It is mainly found in savanna, and occasionally in wooded areas. It is rarely found north of the 15th parallel.1

長度

30 cm 到 65 cm (1 ft 到 2,1 ft)1

最高速度

大約 3,2 km/h（2 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It hunts small vertebrates such as mammals, birds, lizards and amphibians. It has also been reported to hunt small invertebrates such as centipedes and scorpions. It usually goes out to hunt in the first hours of the night.1

West African carpet viper 的照片 — West African carpet viper。照片：Peter Alfrey。 CC0, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

It has bulging eyes and a short snout, typical of vipers in the genus Echis.1
A distinctive series of eye-spots, called ocelli, runs the length of its body.1
It is terrestrial, so it lives on the ground rather than in trees.1
It is mostly active at night and at dusk (nocturnal and crepuscular).1

常被誤認為： Older records from Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea refer to Echis jogeri, and those from eastern Nigeria, Cameroon and southern Chad refer to Echis romani. These are now recognised as separate species. Echis leucogaster is more common north of the 15th parallel, where this snake is rarely found.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 is a mix of procoagulants, anticoagulants, haemorrhagins, nephrotoxins and necrotoxins. Procoagulants make blood clot, while anticoagulants stop it clotting, so bleeding can occur. Nephrotoxins damage the kidneys, and necrotoxins kill tissue around the bite. Local symptoms include pain, swelling, bleeding, tissue death (necrosis) and disfigurement, which may lead to amputation. Whole-body symptoms include coagulopathy (blood clotting problems), haemorrhages, shock, kidney failure and blindness.1

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。

The West African carpet viper causes more human deaths from snakebite than all other African snakes combined. The envenoming rate is 80%, and the lethality rate is 10–20%.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 threatened, it forms its body into an S shape and rubs its scales together to make an alert sound.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 4 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）

West African carpet 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)

West African carpet viper 大約 3,2 km/h (2 mph)

一個正在走路的人 大約 5 km/h (3,1 mph)

值得知道

小知識

It makes an alert sound by rubbing its scales together while in an S-shaped posture.1

Hatchlings are already 10–12 cm long, which is a sizeable fraction of an adult's average length.1

Its scientific name, ocellatus, comes from the row of eye-spots, called ocelli, that runs along its body.1

Some individual snakes have been found far from its main range, including in the Central African Republic and central Sudan.1

給毒液專家

學名: Echis ocellatus
類群: 蝰蛇
家人: Viperidae2
排序: Squamata
各大洲: 非洲
寶寶: Sexually mature females lay between 6 and 20 eggs, usually at the end of the dry season, in February to March. Hatchlings are 10–12 cm long.1
對人的危險: 5 / 5: 致命3