第 0375 号，共 1 402 张

Spider-tailed horned viper

Pseudocerastes urarachnoides

名字的由来： The scientific name comes from Ancient Greek words meaning tail, spider and 'like', because of its spider-like tail tip.1

需要看医生很少致命，但被咬了要去看医生。

蝰蛇

咬伤吃：肉

对人的危险: 严重被咬了要去看医生。死亡非常罕见。

The spider-tailed horned viper is a venomous snake with a tail tip that looks like a spider. It lives only in the mountains of western Iran and the nearby eastern part of Iraq. It wiggles its tail to lure birds close enough to catch.1

生活在

Western Iran and the eastern part of Iraq, near the Iran-Iraq border, mainly on the western side of the Zagros Mountains1

亚洲

首页

It lives at higher elevations, mostly on rocky ground made of gypsum, and prefers deep cracks and holes in the rock. These spots trap humidity and moisture during hot summers. During the day it is most often found in the shade of a shrub.1

长度

60 cm (2 ft)3

典型成年个体大小

最高速度

约 3.4 公里/小时（2.1 英里/小时）

在陆地上, 粗略估计

它吃什么？

It eats birds, including the Isabelline shrike and several warbler species. It waves the tip of its tail in a figure-of-eight pattern to lure insect-eating birds within striking range.1

Spider-tailed horned viper的照片 — Spider-tailed horned viper。照片：Omid Mozaffari。 Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.

怎样认出它

The scales above each eye rise up into small horns.1
About 16 to 17 scales sit between the horns.1
The bulb-shaped tail tip is bordered by long, drooping scales that look like spider legs.1
The scales on the body are rougher than those of other species in its genus.1
It has 15 pairs of subcaudal scales (the scales on the underside of the tail).1

常被误认为： It looks very similar to other Pseudocerastes vipers in the region, especially around the head. The unusual, spider-like tail tip is the feature that sets it apart.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 mainly acts as a cytotoxin, which destroys cells across a wide variety of cell types, and it has minor neurotoxic effects, which attack the nerves. It is a procoagulant, meaning it makes blood clot, and reports describe clotting in about 13 seconds. The venom affects birds most strongly, and also affects mammals and amphibians. A 2021 study by Brouw found it has a coagulant effect on humans and affects Factor X, a protein needed for blood clotting.1

它对人有多危险？

对人的危险: 严重被咬了要去看医生。死亡非常罕见。

No human bite has ever been recorded in the wild. How severe its effects would be on people is not known.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 3 根香蕉首尾相接一样长110 秒就能跑完 100 米（最快的人需要 9.6 秒）

Spider-tailed horned 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)

Spider-tailed horned viper 约 3.4 公里/小时 (2.1 mph)

一个在走路的人 约 5 公里/小时 (3.1 mph)

值得了解

事实

Its tail is moved in a figure-of-eight pattern, and it moves faster when birds are nearby. Field studies have confirmed that this is a lure and not random movement.1

Footage of it luring migrating birds appears in the Asia episode of the BBC series Seven Worlds, One Planet, narrated by David Attenborough.1

A digested lark was found in the stomach of one of the specimens used to describe the species, supporting the idea that the tail lures birds.1

Its tail tip is a form of aggressive mimicry, where a predator looks like something else to attract its prey.1

Several other snakes, such as the sidewinder and the green tree python, also use the tip of their tail as a lure, but none has the elongated scales that look like arthropod legs.1

A specimen collected in 1968 was first identified as a Persian horned viper. It was only recognised as a separate species and described in 2006.1

谣言粉碎机

谣言： The strange tail tip was caused by a parasite, a deformity or a tumour.

真相： Early specimens were thought to have a damaged tail tip. In fact, the spider-like tail is a natural feature that the snake uses to lure birds.1