第 0339 号，共 1 402 张

West African carpet viper

Echis ocellatus

名字的由来： 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动物之一。如果它咬了你，立刻呼救。快速救治和抗毒血清能救活大多数人。立刻拨打急救电话。

蝰蛇

咬伤吃：肉

对人的危险: 致命世界上最危险的动物之一。

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

生活在

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

非洲

首页

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

长度

30 cm到65 cm (1 ft到2.1 ft)1

最高速度

约 3.2 公里/小时（2 英里/小时）

在陆地上, 粗略估计

它吃什么？

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.

怎样认出它

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

常被误认为： 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 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

它对人有多危险？

对人的危险: 致命世界上最危险的动物之一。

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：医生有药（抗毒血清）或治疗方法。1

它害怕时会做什么？

When threatened, it forms its body into an S shape and rubs its scales together to make an alert sound.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 4 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）

West African carpet 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)

West African carpet viper 约 3.2 公里/小时 (2 mph)

一个在走路的人 约 5 公里/小时 (3.1 mph)

值得了解

事实

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

给毒液专家

学名: Echis ocellatus
类别: 蝰蛇
家人: Viperidae2
排序: Squamata
大洲: 非洲
宝宝: 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
对人的危险: 5 / 5: 致命3