第 0323 号，共 1 402 张

Rhinoceros viper

Bitis nasicornis

名字的由来： The common name refers to the horn-like scales on the end of its nose.1

可致命不治疗可能会要你的命。如果它咬了你，赶快求助。

蝰蛇

咬伤吃：肉

对人的危险: 非常危险不治疗可能会害死人。

The rhinoceros viper is a large, stout snake with bright colours and two or three horn-like scales on its nose. It lives in forests across West and Central Africa. It is venomous, and its venom is mainly hemotoxic, meaning it attacks the blood and circulation.1

生活在

Forests of West and Central Africa, from Guinea and Liberia to Ghana, and from Central African Republic to Uganda and western Kenya1

非洲

首页

It mainly lives in forested areas and rarely goes into woodland. It hides by day in leaf litter, holes, around fallen trees or tangled tree roots. It is mainly on the ground but can climb into trees and thickets up to 3 m high, and is sometimes found in shallow pools.1

长度

72 cm到1.1 m (2.4 ft到3.5 ft)1

最高速度

约 3.6 公里/小时（2.2 英里/小时）

在陆地上, 粗略估计

它吃什么？

It mainly eats small mammals, and in wetland habitats it also takes toads, frogs and fish. It hunts by ambush, often staying still for long periods while waiting for prey to pass by.1

Rhinoceros viper的照片 — Rhinoceros viper。照片：Holger Krisp。 CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.

怎样认出它

Large and stout, with rough, heavily keeled scales1
Two or three horn-like scales on the end of the nose, the front pair often long1
Series of blue or blue-green oblong markings, each with a lemon-yellow line down the centre, set within black blotches1
Dark crimson triangles down the flanks, bordered with green or blue1
Top of the head blue or green, with a black arrow mark1

常被误认为： The name horned puff adder is also used for Bitis caudalis (horned adder), which is a different species. Because of this, names can cause confusion, so the name butterfly viper is preferred.1

毒液之力

咬伤

它咬的时候，毒液通过毒牙或牙齿出来。

它的毒液会造成什么？

Its venom is mainly hemotoxic, which attacks the circulatory system, destroying tissue and blood vessels and causing internal bleeding. It also has a neurotoxic component, which attacks the nerves. Small doses of the venom can be deadly. In the few detailed reports of human bites, massive swelling was described, which may lead to necrosis (death of tissue).1

它对人有多危险？

对人的危险: 非常危险不治疗可能会害死人。

Because its range is restricted, few bites have been reported and no statistics are available. In 2003 a man in Dayton, Ohio, who kept one as a pet, was bitten and died.1

好消息：医生有药（抗毒血清）或治疗方法。1

它害怕时会做什么？

When approached it often reveals its presence with a very loud hiss, almost a shriek, and it can strike quickly forwards or sideways without coiling first or giving a warning.1

如果它咬人

让人保持安静不动，被咬的肢体与心脏保持同一高度，摘下戒指和紧身物品，尽快送医院。

一定先拨打你的急救电话（112、000、911）。这里是一般急救指导，不是医疗建议。急救基础

注意安全

永远不要摸、抓或逗弄野生动物，即使是很小的，即使它看起来在睡觉或已经死了。
给它留出空间。如果遇到它，保持冷静，慢慢后退，让它走自己的路。
如果被它咬了：保持冷静，保持不动，拨打你的急救电话（112、000、911）或尽快去医院。记住它长什么样，拍张照片会有帮助。

它不是冲着你来的。它用毒液捕猎或保护自己，而且它更愿意躲起来。更多安全知识

在世界哪里？

非洲亚洲欧洲北美洲南美洲澳大利亚和大洋洲

它有多大？

它有多长？

和 2 只家猫鼻子接尾巴一样长和 6 根香蕉首尾相接一样长100 秒就能跑完 100 米（最快的人需要 9.6 秒）

Rhinoceros viper和你比起来有多大？

只是在你的浏览器里算一算。什么都不会被保存或发送到任何地方。

它有多快？

一只陆龟 约 0.3 公里/小时 (0.19 mph)

Rhinoceros viper 约 3.6 公里/小时 (2.2 mph)

一个在走路的人 约 5 公里/小时 (3.1 mph)

值得了解

事实

Its scales are so rough that they can cut people who handle a snake that is struggling.1

Its vivid colours break up its outline in the dappled light of the forest floor, so it is very hard to see.1

Its fangs are not large, rarely more than 1.5 cm long, and when not in use they fold up into the roof of its mouth.1

Its bright colours fade quickly after it sheds its skin, as silt from its moist habitat builds up on its rough scales.1

At least one antivenom, called India Antiserum Africa Polyvalent, protects specifically against bites from this species.1

谣言粉碎机

谣言： Its bright colours make it easy to spot in the forest.

真相： Its colours give it excellent camouflage in the dappled light of the forest floor, which can make it almost invisible.1

给毒液专家

学名: Bitis nasicornis
类别: 蝰蛇
家人: Viperidae2
排序: Squamata
大洲: 非洲
宝宝: It gives birth to live young, between six and 38 in West Africa, in March and April at the start of the rainy season.1
对人的危险: 4 / 5: 非常危险3