Ecological study on the venomous snakes in Guangxi, China

我们对广西壮族自治区的毒蛇进行了生态方面的调查。在广西最北端的紫原区，由于有几起被当局认为是毒蛇咬伤的案件，我们检查了是否存在蛇龙。虽然我们在广西北部地区发现了许多与之有亲缘关系的蛇、蜥蜴和青蛙，但我们没有发现蛇。该区的医务人员同意今后继续调查，并将标本保存下来，以备将来调查。至于两种绿坑蛇的分布，已被证实发生在广西北部和贵州在广西南部非常常见。斯氏锥虫可能在蒙大拿地区更常见。另一方面，粘鳞毛虫在北部地区如紫苑非常常见。防城的工作人员也同意保留导致咬伤的标本，并允许用真实的蛇来检查病例的症状。在北海地区，海蛇咬伤每年发生几次，中国目前没有抗蛇毒血清。广西医科大学有想法在未来生产抗蛇毒血清，我们曾尝试从烹调海鲜时切下的头部采集毒液，并成功地获得了良好的毒液用于免疫。北海沿岸种类最多的是弯尾水蚤，其次是蓝斑海豚。在越南边境的龙州地区，我们发现了一种新的博伊属动物。广西医科大学只保留了三个标本，将在不久的将来进行描述。眼镜蛇的毒液比东南亚其他种类的眼镜蛇的毒力要小，而且会引起皮肤下更多的坏死，在被咬后立即出现，抗蛇毒血清往往会延迟。

We have made survey on ecological aspects of the venomous snakes in Guangxi Zhuan Autonomous Region, China.In Ziyuan district, northenmost area of Guangxi, we have checked the possibility of the presence of Agkistrodon sp, because there were several snake-bite cases considered to be Agkistrodon bite by some authorities.Although we have found many snakes, lizards and frogs whose affinities are northern areas from Guangxi, we have failed to find Agkistrodon.The medical staffs of the District have agreed to continue the survey in future and retain the specimens for the future investigation.As for the distribution of two species of green pit vipers, Trimeresurus albolabris has been shown to occur in northern Guangxi and Guizhou, and very common in southern Guangxi.T.stejnegeri may be more common in montanus area.On the other hand, T.mucrosquamatus is very common in northern area as Ziyuan.The staffs of Fangcheng also agreed to retain the specimens causing the bite and make it possible to check the symptoms with actual snake for the case.In Beihai area, several seasnake bites occur annualy, and no antivenom is available in China presently.Guangxi Medical University has an idea to produce antivenom in future, and we have tried to collect venom from the heads cut off during cooking for seasnake dish and quite successful to obtain good venom to immune.The most abundant species in the shore of Beihai is Lapemis curtus, and Hydrophis cyanocinctus is the next.In Longzhou, the area of Vietnamese border, we have found a new species of the genus Boiga.Only three specimens are retained by the Guangxi Medical University, and will be described in the near future.The venom of Naja atra is less potent than other species of Naja in Southeast Asia, and cause more necrosis under skin which occur immediately after the bite and the antivenom tends to be late.