As the most common snake in China, the red chain snake has always been controversial.
Because there has always been ambiguity about whether it is toxic or not. Some people say it's non-toxic, others say it's toxic.
This topic has also been controversial in academic circles. So, is the most common red chain snake in China poisonous?
BOT will show you today.
Red chain snake-red chain
There are as many as 1700 species in the world, most of which are nontoxic. Red-chain snake is a kind of snake belonging to Agkistrodon halys. The adult snake is about 65438 0 meters long and the maximum length is about 2 meters. The red chain snake is also called "red chain", mainly because its appearance is red and black, which is composed of red rings, so it is also called "red hundred knot snake".
Judging from the shape of this snake, I believe many people will think it is a poisonous snake. Because as the saying goes, the brighter the appearance, the more deadly the toxin. But magically, most people not only don't believe this statement, but also basically think that the red chain snake is nontoxic.
Why on earth is this?
First of all, the red chain snake is one of the most widely distributed snakes in China, and it is distributed everywhere in China. Hills, plains, cottages, fields, grasses, waters and other places have traces of their activities, which can be seen almost everywhere.
Since the number is large and widely distributed, it means that people are more likely to meet and contact each other. In addition, the red chain snake is fierce, and when disturbed, it will take the initiative to pounce, so the probability of people being bitten by the red chain snake is relatively high.
And because in the case of red chain snake bite, most people have no toxic reaction, and more are just some allergic reactions and skin injuries. Therefore, in many people's cognition, it is symbolically considered that the red chain snake is a non-toxic snake.
But in fact, the red chain snake is a poisonous snake, but its poisonous glands and toxicity are quite special.
Common non-poisonous snakes are actually poisonous?
Compendium of Materia Medica records: "Melia azedarach is red and black, just like Melia azedarach and Mulberry Root, with little toxicity."
As can be seen from the records in Compendium of Materia Medica, it puts forward the viewpoint that the red chain snake is poisonous and non-toxic. But there is no data to consider.
Therefore, in 1993, Wu Maobin, a Chinese snake biologist, made an anatomical study of the red chain snake. 1996 published a paper entitled "discovery of red chain snake venom apparatus and in vitro production of venom glands" in China Snake Journal.
Wu Maobin dissected the red chain snake and found that there was a "poisonous device" in the red chain snake.
The poison organ of the red chain snake is composed of poison glands, fangs and poison tubes, and the unique poison glands of the red chain snake are also found. The discovery of Darwin's gland also enriched people's understanding of post-viper.
After that, Wu Maobin carried out the experiment of extracting dry poison from the red chain snake, and got 164 mg dry poison, of which the smallest was 6 mg and the largest was only 25 mg, with an average of 14.9 mg dry poison.
Unfortunately, this study did not test the toxicity of the red chain snake, and this document did not get much attention and attention. Therefore, in "Snakes in China" published by China, red-chain snakes are described and classified as non-toxic snakes.
This controversy has existed ever since. ......
However, in 20 17 years, in the literature of Biological Bulletin, researchers conducted a more detailed and comprehensive toxicity test and anatomical study on the red chain snake.
It is found in the experiment that the fangs of poisonous snakes are generally tubular or grooved, while the fangs of red chain snakes are trenchless and tubeless, that is to say, there is no grooved or tubular structure to transport venom. But judging from the deformation of the last two upper teeth, the mobility is poor, but it also has a certain puncture effect.
In addition, the fangs of the red chain snake are very short, only about 2-3 mm on average, and grow at the back of the collar inside the mouth, so people will hardly be injured by fangs, and even if they are bitten by fangs, it is difficult to inject venom effectively.
Then the toxicity of the red chain snake was tested. After injecting the same dose of diluted venom, the shortest mouse died after 2 hours and the longest mouse died after 36 hours.
To sum up, these experiments preliminarily proved that the extract of venom gland of Agkistrodon rubra has certain lethal effect on mice. Although the exact value of lethal dose (LD50) remains to be determined, it at least proves that the red chain snake is indeed a poisonous snake.
label
Even if the red chain snake toxin is harmless to human body, it should be paid attention to and prevented. Especially allergic people, because poisonous snakes contain a lot of bacteria in their mouths, it is easy to cause allergic reactions.
Therefore, the red chain snake belongs to a post-poisonous snake. Even if its toxicity is weak, the probability of poisoning is extremely low, and it only occurs in some people. But it is also a poisonous snake. If it's a big deal, it's called a poisonous snake