第 0083 号，共 1 402 张

Texas coral snake

Micrurus tener

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

需要看医生很少致命，但被咬了要去看医生。

珊瑚蛇

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 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

生活在

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

北美洲

首页

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

长度

1.2 m (4 ft)1

最高速度

约 4.9 公里/小时（3 英里/小时）

在陆地上, 粗略估计

它吃什么？

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.

怎样认出它

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

常被误认为： 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？

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

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。

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：医生有药（抗毒血清）或治疗方法。1

它害怕时会做什么？

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

如果它咬人

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
让人保持安静不动，尽快送医院，即使咬伤看起来很小：症状可能几小时后才出现。

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