Efa views. The most dangerous snakes in the world. Violent or ferocious

29.10.2019

Efa is rightfully considered one of the most dangerous inhabitants of our planet. Her bite is fatal in every fifth case. In addition, she is not at all afraid to use her teeth even against the largest opponents. Therefore, people better know what this deadly predator looks like. What regions does he live in? And what should you do when you meet him?

Efa snake: description

Efa (lat. Echis carinatus) - this is sand snake Viper family. This species prefers to live in particular a large number of This snake lives in the expanses of African wastelands and deserts. Also, some of its subspecies can be found in the southern regions of Asia and in Indonesia.

As for the neighboring territories, the efa snake can be found in Uzbekistan. And although their population here is not as large as in Indonesia, they nevertheless pose a significant threat to people who dare to enter the desert lands of these lands.

Appearance

Over the long efa, she has adapted well to life in the desert. This can be seen not only in her habits, but also in appearance. So, on the body of a reptile, light colors predominate, most often a golden hue. A dark zigzag pattern runs from tail to head, which stands out strongly against the background of multi-colored spots located randomly on the back of the snake.

In addition, efa is a snake with many ribbed scales. They help the reptile regulate its body temperature, which is essential for life in arid climates. The scales themselves are ribbed and are best seen on the back and sides of the predator.

But nature cheated the snake in size. So, even the largest individuals rarely exceed the threshold of 80 cm, and the average representative of this species grows only up to 50 cm. But such proportions are quite justified, given the fact that the efe has to exist in conditions with limited resources.

Habitat

Let's start with the fact that the efa is a very active snake. It rarely lingers in one place, and therefore it can be found both on the open planes of the desert and among the dense thickets of the steppe. In addition, some representatives of this species feel quite comfortable on rocky terrain. Fortunately, their small size allows them to easily slip into even the narrowest holes and crevices.

However, the snakes themselves prefer to live among dense thickets and shrubs. First, it allows the efe to hide its presence from prying eyes. And secondly, in such areas there is much more food, which is very tempting. Otherwise, the predator quickly adapts to any living conditions.

Potential Victims

Like most of its relatives, the efa snake is a born hunter. The basis of its diet is insects, as they are easy to catch. In addition, larger prey can become a real problem for the reptile, because it simply does not fit into its mouth. But this does not mean that the snake will not be able to kill her - the poison of the efa is enough to knock down an adult horse.

In addition, the predator loves to hunt small rodents. For them, they are an important source of energy, since, unlike insects, they are warm-blooded. If it becomes very tight with food, the efa begins to pounce on everything that he can subsequently swallow.

Behavioral features

The efa snake is active both during the day and at night. This is extremely unusual for reptiles, who prefer to divide the day into periods of hunting and rest. However, our predator does not stop its travel cycle even after it has eaten heavily. The maximum that she will do is slow down her “step”, and even then not by much.

Also, this type of reptile does not flow into hibernation. True, in the regions where they live, the coolness rarely drops to the point that it can affect the snake's metabolism. Nevertheless, with a strong drop in temperature, the efa still calms down a bit: it stops traveling and settles in a found hole or crevice.

reproduction

The efa snake is notable for the fact that it gives birth to living offspring. Recall that most reptiles are used to laying eggs, and such metamorphoses are very rare for them. But this species predators decided to stand out from the rest of his brothers.

The mating games of the snake begin in late January - early March. The gestation period is a little over a month, and therefore, in early spring, the female gives birth to young offspring. At the same time, at one time, she is able to give life to 16 serpents, who are immediately ready to feed on their own.

Human danger

As mentioned earlier, the sand efa is a very poisonous snake. If not provided on time medical care, then its bite will be fatal for a person. At the same time, the victim herself will experience terrible pain, because the toxins released into the body instantly begin to corrode the blood cells in it.

The worst thing is that efa is not afraid of people. She can safely approach their dwellings and even crawl into them. For example, there is plenty of evidence that a snake built its lair under the floor or in a closet. Therefore, if a person is in the territory where these snakes live, he must always be on the alert.

Sand efa (Echis carinatus) Pretty snake nice name efa is very common in the foothills and valleys of Central Asia. There is so much talk about this snake here that the efa is already becoming almost legendary. Especially much is said about its danger to humans. A small drop of her poison is enough to kill a whole company of soldiers. If an efa bites, then the person is doomed, even if he survives, he will forever remain a cripple.

Actually, it's not just stories. Of course, much of all the talk about this snake is exaggerated, but the truth is that its venom is indeed very toxic. Every year, many die from efa bites. The sandy efa ranks seventh in the twenty most dangerous snakes for humans. In Africa, her poison dies more people than from all African snakes taken together.

Efa - the snake is not very large, half the size of a cobra or gyurza, its length is about 70-80 cm. Males are on average slightly larger than females. But, despite the small, by snake standards, size, efu is very difficult not to notice. It is golden sandy in color. Large white spots appear all over the body, a light zigzag is drawn on the side. The underside is light yellow, sometimes with brown dots arranged in the form of stripes, and a kind of cross can be seen on the head.

Efa lives throughout North Africa to Algeria, and in the south it is distributed to Abyssinia. In addition, it is found in Palestine, Arabia, Persia and in the west of the Hindustan peninsula. Lives in hilly sands overgrown with saxaul, in clay deserts, thickets of bushes, on river cliffs and in ruins. In favorable conditions, efa can be very numerous. For example, in the valley of the Murgab River, on an area of about 1.5 km2, over 5 years, snake catchers mined more than 2 thousand ef.

Efa is an amazing snake. In many ways, it differs from its cold-blooded counterparts. For example, ephs may not hibernate if the winter is not cold. They may mate in January. And by March, small serpents appear, while in other snakes they appear not earlier than June. Surprisingly, the efa does not lay eggs either, it gives birth to live snakes. The female brings from 3 to 16 young reptiles 10-16 cm long.

Despite the fact that efa is one of the most poisonous snakes, she rarely attacks living creatures, which more vole. Most often, centipedes, spiders, grasshoppers, midges become its prey. Maybe this is due to the fact that the efa is quite nimble, cannot, like many snakes, just lie in the sun. But in order to digest big booty, necessary for a long time be at rest.

Efa is characterized by movement sideways. She throws her head to the side, then brings the back of the body forward and pulls the front of the body. This method creates a better body support on a loose substrate. Because of this method of movement, a characteristic trace remains on the sand - separate oblique strips with hooked endings.

Efa very rarely crawls into people's houses, but still this sometimes happens. Similar cases have been recorded in Egypt. You have to be especially careful with ruins or abandoned houses. In 1987, three children died in Cairo after finding a nest in an abandoned house where no one had lived for many years. The children went into this house out of curiosity and accidentally disturbed the ef family hiding there. The snake, protecting its newly born offspring, attacked the children. They could not be saved, as the poison acted very quickly.

In India, the sand efa is very common. Settles in the area where there is sandy soil. Here most of the deaths caused by snake bites are attributed to her; workers in the fields are especially affected by it.

Although the efa is considered one of the most dangerous snakes, more than half of all its attacks occurred due to the negligence of the person himself. If the snake thinks that she or her offspring are in danger, she will defend herself fiercely. The energy, mobility and speed with which the efa defends and attacks make a great impression. As soon as the snake feels danger, it begins to wriggle in a special way, forming two semi-lunar bends from its body and holding its head ready to attack in the middle of one of these bends. At the same time, she does not remain calm for a minute, but constantly turns right and left. The snake remains in the offensive position as long as the person or animal is close and sinks its teeth into every object that it can reach. She is said to be able to jump as high as half her body. Therefore, it is better not to approach the snake at a distance of less than three meters. During the defensive position, this snake still makes a characteristic sound. Its sand efa is produced by friction of the side scales.

As already noted, efa poison is very toxic. It sharply reduces the level of fibrinogen in the blood, which causes heavy bleeding, both in the area of the bite, and in other "weak" places, especially from the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth. The remaining symptoms of poisoning are typical for most poisonous snakes. Every fifth person bitten by an efa dies. To stop the action of the poison that has entered the body, before the arrival of doctors or until the moment when the victim is taken to the nearest hospital, a number of actions must be taken. The first aid measure for a bite is the immediate suction of the poison from the wounds, so that a significant part of the poison can be removed from the body. Squeezing out the poison with your fingers and suction should be done within 7-10 minutes after the bite. Suction is perfectly safe for the people who perform it. A tourniquet should not be applied. It practically does not delay the process of absorption of poisons.

In order not to have to apply these actions in life, care must be taken, especially if you know that there may be a sand efa nearby. Because of their light spots, the efu is easy to spot on the sand. The snakes themselves try to avoid people, bypass the houses in which a person lives. And then - the efa never attacks without warning, it will certainly warn an uninvited traveler with its rustling, and it can only bite when a person goes at it or tries to grab it.


	Length: 70–80 cm. Habitat: found in the foothills and valleys of Central Asia, throughout northern Africa to Algeria.

Discussion on the site http://www.lugovsa.net/p/10081

* User lugovsa
“Strange name. The shape is similar to something Italian, Spanish, in extreme cases, German. But in these languages, it seems, nothing of the kind is observed. It is observed in a completely different area: Arabic ... "viper", hence Farsi ... "viper", Turkish efi "viper". It seems quite logical: ephs are found just where they speak these languages. But then the stress, in theory, should have been on the second syllable.”

* User yuditsky
“Well, first of all, we must mention the biblical Efe.”

* lugovsa
“That's true, but I hardly imagine a borrowing into Russian from Hebrew that left no trace in Polish and Ukrainian (if this is a "new" borrowing from "Ashkenazi") or in a whole bunch European languages if it is old (Septuagint, etc.)”.

1) Existing etymology

Wiktionary

Root: -ef-; ending: a. Meaning: zool. a poisonous snake of the viper family that lives in the deserts of North Africa and Southwest and South Asia (lat. Echis).
Etymology (author unknown)
Comes from the Greek. echis "viper", further from it goes back to pra-Indoev. *angwhi- "snake".

2) Biblical bestiary, see; http://ja-tora.com/bibleiskii-bestiarii-afie/

3) Application of the term in Russian

A) Hebrew and Chaldean etymological dictionary for books Old Testament, HE. Steinberg, Vilna, 1878; see http://greeklatin.narod.ru/hebdict/index.htm

EFE hissing reptile, echidna.

B) encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron. - St. Petersburg: Brockhaus-Efron. 1890-1907

Efa. (Echis arenicola) - snake; see Vipers.

C) National corpus of the Russian language

The term has been recorded in the Corpus since 1955, earlier used in the Hebrew and Chaldean dictionary by O.N. Steinberg, other sources could not be found.

* Sergey Bakatov. Quiet life in a terrarium (Notes of a veterinarian) // "Science and Life", 2008

When the efa assumes a threatening pose, her velvety and opalescent; warm color, from sandy to light brown; the scales, adorned on the sides with a chain of white beads, begin to vibrate continuously, which creates the illusion that it is moving in all directions at the same time. Efa in a state of excitement swells, and the sound that she makes is similar to the sound of boiling oil if water gets into it.

4) Generalization and conclusion

The etymology presented by Wikipedia is bewildering, the Greek name echis viper cannot be identical to the biblical term EFA, why deduce from Greek what is well known in biblical Hebrew.

5) Hebrew Terminology and Biblical Imagery

A) Terminology

* EFA \u003d Hebrew EFE snake, viper, echidna (genus of snakes, in Russian poisonous snake), asp.
See strong 660, Efa;

* Yiddish EFA.

B) Biblical image

* Job 20:16: “He sucks the venom of the snake; the tongue of vipers (EFE) will kill him.”

* Isaiah 30:6: “Heaviness on the animals going south, through the land of oppression and crowding, from where come lionesses and lions, asps (EFE) and flying snakes; they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the backs of camels to a people that will not benefit them.”

* Isaiah 59:5: “They hatch snake eggs and weave cobwebs; whoever eats their eggs will die, and if he crushes them, an echidna will crawl out (EFE).

Thus, the name of the snake EFA, obviously, belongs to the biblical Hebrew, possibly transferred to Russian from Yiddish; after the partitions of Poland in Russian Empire over a million Jews. The interpretation of Wikipedia (root -ef-, ending a, etc.) was done illiterately, not professionally.

A snake with a rather beautiful name efa is very common in the foothills and valleys of Central Asia. There is so much talk about this snake here that the efa is already becoming almost legendary. Especially much is said about its danger to humans. A small drop of her poison is enough to kill a whole company of soldiers. If an efa bites, then the person is doomed, even if he survives, he will forever remain a cripple.

Actually, it's not just stories. Of course, much of all the talk about this snake is exaggerated, but the truth is that its venom is indeed very toxic. Every year, many die from efa bites. The sandy efa ranks seventh in the twenty most dangerous snakes for humans. In Africa, more people die from its venom than from all African snakes combined.

Efa lives throughout northern Africa to Algeria, and in the south it is distributed to Abyssinia. In addition, it is found in Palestine, Arabia, Persia and in the west of the Hindustan peninsula. Lives in hilly sands overgrown with saxaul, in clay deserts, thickets of bushes, on river cliffs and in ruins. In favorable conditions, efa can be very numerous. For example, in the valley of the Murgab River, on an area of about 1.5 km2, over 5 years, snake catchers mined more than 2 thousand ef.

Despite the fact that the efa is one of the most poisonous snakes, it rarely attacks living creatures that are larger than a vole. Most often, centipedes, spiders, grasshoppers, midges become its prey. Maybe this is due to the fact that the efa is quite nimble, cannot, like many snakes, just lie in the sun. But in order to digest large prey, you need to be at rest for a long time.

As already noted, efa poison is very toxic. It sharply reduces the level of fibrinogen in the blood, which causes heavy bleeding, both in the area of the bite and in other "weak" places, especially from the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth. The remaining symptoms of poisoning are typical for most poisonous snakes. Every fifth person bitten by an efa dies. To stop the action of the poison that has entered the body, before the arrival of doctors or until the moment when the victim is taken to the nearest hospital, a number of actions must be taken. The first aid measure for a bite is the immediate suction of the poison from the wounds, so that a significant part of the poison can be removed from the body. Squeezing out the poison with your fingers and suction should be done within 7-10 minutes after the bite. Suction is perfectly safe for the people who perform it. A tourniquet should not be applied. It practically does not delay the process of absorption of poisons.

In order not to have to apply these actions in life, care must be taken, especially if you know that there may be a sand efa nearby. Because of their light spots, the efu is easy to spot on the sand. The snakes themselves try to avoid people, bypass the houses in which a person lives. And then - the efa never attacks without warning, it will certainly warn the uninvited traveler with its rustling, and it can only bite when a person goes at it or tries to grab it.

Length: 70–80 cm.
Habitat: found in foothills and valleys of Central Asia, throughout northern Africa up to Algeria.

Danger!
Included in the top ten most poisonous snakes. Aggressive and very fast.

Class: Reptilia = Reptiles

Subclass: Lepidosauria = Lepidosaurs, scaled lizards

Order: Squamata Oppel = Scaled

Suborder: Serpentes (Ophidia) Linnaeus = Snakes

Genus: Echis Merrem = (Sandy) ephs

Species: Echis carinatus Schneid = Sand efa

Sand Efa - Echis carinatus* Schneid* AT recent times highlighted independent view living in the USSR, Echis multisquamatus.

Class Reptiles, or Reptiles - Reptilia Suborder Snakes - Ophidia, or Serpentes Viper family - Viperidae

Ecology and biology. A small snake up to 80 cm long. The color varies, but the typical color of the body is grayish-sandy with light zigzag stripes on the sides. From above, along the body, light transverse stripes are clearly distinguished. On the head is a characteristic light cruciform pattern. With the help of small ribbed scales on the sides of the body, the efa emits a characteristic dry rustling. Another feature of the efa is the so-called "side passage", the traces of which are clearly visible on the sand.

Occurs from east coast Caspian Sea to the Aral Sea, in Southern Uzbekistan and Southwestern Tajikistan. Habitats are very diverse: sands overgrown with saxaul, light forests, mountain slopes, river terraces, etc. In favorable conditions, the number of efas can be very high. From February to June they conduct daytime, and in summer - night image life. They feed on mouse-like rodents, small birds, frogs, and sometimes other snakes. In July - August, females give birth to 3-15 cubs up to 16 cm long. Young efas feed on invertebrates, including centipedes, scorpions, locusts.

Efa is a very mobile snake, her throws are swift and therefore dangerous.

picture of poisoning. Poisoning is accompanied by hemorrhagic edema, bleeding from the wound, nose, gums, extensive subcutaneous hemorrhages, foci of hemorrhage in internal organs, hematuria, shortness of breath, palpitations, muscle pain.

Chemical composition and the mechanism of action of the poison. The venom contains enzymes with proteolytic activity, as well as L-amino acid oxidase, phosphodiesterase, hyaluronidase, NGF, and phospholipase A2. Among proteinases and esterases, enzymes that hydrolyze casein, arginine esters, kininogenases, and arylamidase have been characterized.

Toxicity (DL50) of whole venom in mice 0.72 mg/kg iv and 5.4 mg/kg ip. In poisoned animals, there is a violation of coordination of movements, convulsions, bleeding of mucous membranes. The poison causes necrosis of the cortical layer of the kidneys. The fall in blood pressure is explained by a decrease in peripheral resistance and the physiological effects of kinins released in the body. Violations in the blood coagulation system are dramatic. The most toxic (DL50 0.6 mg/kg) is the venom fraction, which has a proteolytic effect and leads to coagulopathy. Poison enzymes cause direct activation of prothrombin, transforming it into thrombin. In addition, the poison inactivates antithrombin III. As a result, the resulting thrombin is not activated, but is only sorbed on fibrin. For these reasons, heparin therapy for DIC caused by efa poison is not appropriate. Practical value. Efa poison can be used as a diagnostic drug for diseases of the blood coagulation system, instead of expensive foreign ones. It is used in the production of polyvalent anti-snake serum.....

Poisonous animals and plants of the USSR / B.N. Orlov, D.B. Gelashvili, A.K. Ibragimov. - M.: Higher. school, 1990. - 272 p.