|
1-10 of 12 messages
|
Page 1 of 2
Next
|
|
Xinjiang, China snake bite
|
Reply
|
|
by GaoBo on February 21, 2010
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Hi,
A few years ago my husband was hiking at Heaven Lake in Xinjiang, China and was bitten by a small, approx. 12in long, grey snake with a brown diamond pattern on its back. His entire hand and forearm, up to his elbow, swelled and he was hospitalized. A few days later dark red bruises appeared at his joints. Does anyone have any idea of what type of snake this was? The Chinese doctors were unsure.
Thanks in advance!
Kathryn
|
| |
|
RE: Xinjiang, China snake bite
|
Reply
|
|
by pictigaster1 on February 21, 2010
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
The choices are many with that information.Gloydius protobothrops ovophis rabidophis and the list goes on and on.
|
| |
|
RE: Xinjiang, China snake bite
|
Reply
|
|
by lanceheads on February 22, 2010
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
By your description, it looks like a Protobothrops xiangchegenis, there isn't a common name for the snake.
|
| |
|
RE: Xinjiang, China snake bite
|
Reply
|
|
by Cro on February 23, 2010
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Protobothrops xiangchengensis is known as the Szechwan Speckled Pitviper, or, just the Szechwan Pitviper.
However, if the bite occured in Xinjiang, it is likely that it was one of the other Protobothrops, and not xiangchengensis, as that snake if found further south.
Gloydius can also be ruled out, as they do not range into Xinjiang. Ovophis can be ruled out for the same reason.
I think that Protobothrops jerdonii jerdonii, which is known as Jerdon's pitviper, is the most likely candidate, as it is found in the Xinjiang area of China, and it matches your description as far as having a pattern that could be called diamonds or spots.
Best Regards
John Z
|
| |
|
RE: Xinjiang, China snake bite
|
Reply
|
|
by lanceheads on February 23, 2010
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
May be John, but P.j.jerdoni are highly speckled with blotching, not as the poster described. I have had P.j.j. and they looked classic like the one's pictured in Gumprecht and Vogel's book. In fact, Tom Crutchfield has some now (for sale) Check out the pic's on his website.
|
| |
|
RE: Xinjiang, China snake bite
|
Reply
|
|
by Cro on February 23, 2010
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
I know the description does not quite match, however, unless the snake made a 700 or 800 mile range extension, it would not have been found in Xinjiang.
That is assuming that the range maps are correct. I have no idea how up to date the data for China is concerning ranges.
If you look at the map at:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.china-waterworks.com/china-map.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.china-waterworks.com/china-facts-figures-population.htm&h=500&w=619&sz=53&tbnid=ywgm2mB3ovYuUM:&tbnh=110&tbnw=136&prev=/images%3Fq%3DXinjiang%2Bchina%2Bmap&hl=en&usg=__r71W42GnOOpNp8zCXzBCco1LnV0=&ei=kjeES9y2JdXllAeDr9yNAg&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=6&ct=image&ved=0CB0Q9QEwBQ
you can see just how far Xinjiang is from Sichuan.
Perhaps Wolfgang has more up to date range information on this group of snakes, and help narrow the choices down?
We all know that descriptions of snakes from the field are often not very accurate.
For instance, some folks look at a copperhead from above and see hourglasses, while others look at the same snake and see the the area between the hourglasses as diamonds, and, if they look at the same snake from the side, they see only half the hourglass, and say it had triangles down the side.
The only way to know for sure, would be a photo or the snake itself.
All of the snakes in that area are closely related, and all are capable of creating the described symptoms.
Without more information, all we can do is guess, and say that it was likely a pitviper bite.
Best Regards
John Z
|
| |
|
RE: Xinjiang, China snake bite
|
Reply
|
|
by Cro on February 23, 2010
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Here is something interesting I found on the web.
It is a photo of dried snakes in a jar in Xinjiang, China.
I can not identify the snakes, however, if we assume that they are venomous, and if we assume that they are from the Xinjiang region, then perhaps they are the snake that caused the bite.
I have no idea what they are based on the photo. They could be some non-venomous snake. But, they do seem to resemble pit vipers. Perhaps someone will recognize them ?
Check it out at:
http://travel.mongabay.com/china/images/china_107-7335.html
Best Regards
John Z
|
| |
|
RE: Xinjiang, China snake bite
|
Reply
|
|
by GaoBo on February 24, 2010
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Kathryn's husband and snake bite recipient here. Thanks very much for the information; I was bitten back in 1998 and have always been curious about the snake. At the time I was bitten, I tried to remember the details of the snake, thinking that it might be important later on, so I am fairly confident that I'd recognize it if I saw it again. I did a couple Google searches based upon people's feedback and found this picture:
http://s73.photobucket.com/albums/i233/China_Herping/Snakes/Protobothrops%20jerdonii/?action=view¤t=CopyofIMG_10190copy.jpg
This looks quite a lot like my memory of the snake (with the caveat that 12 years have passed between now and then), except I don't remember the head being quite so diamond shaped. The diamond head would have raised a red flag about the possibility of venom, and when I got bit, I looked for the layman's hallmarks of a venomous snake (bight colors, diamond head, etc.) -- none of them really hit, and it wasn't until my hand started to swell that I was sure that the snake was venomous.
The doctors didn't seem to have much familiarity with the venomous snakes in the region, but when I described the snake to them as being small, with barely more diameter than a pencil, each said, "The smaller the snake, the more venom it releases." Beyond that, they had no specifics.
At any rate, thanks again for the information. I'd appreciate any additional insight the forum would be able to provide on the type of snake that bit me; please feel free to let me know if additional information from me might be able to narrow things down.
|
| |
|
RE: Xinjiang, China snake bite
|
Reply
|
|
by Cro on February 24, 2010
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Hello Kathryn's husband.
From the range maps we have access to, the Protobothrops jerdonii is the most likely snake from that region.
As far as the folks who say that the smaller snakes are more dangerous, that is a an old story, based on the wrong assumption that young snake can not control how much venom they use in a bite.
That has been proven to be not true. A larger snake has much more venom, and might have more control over it with learning, however, the idea that smaller, younger snake use all of their venom in one bite is false.
Best Regards
John Z
|
| |
|
Email Subscription
You are not subscribed to this topic.
Subscribe!
My Subscriptions
Subscriptions Help
Check our help page for help using
, or send questions, comments, or suggestions to the
Manager.
|
