A few years ago, a joke circulated on the Internet, saying that a man was accidentally bitten by a five-step snake while walking in the wild. The man had an idea, grabbed the five-step snake and bit him 19 times, so he could walk 100 steps.

Do you know what kind of snake the five-step snake in this paragraph is? Just how toxic is it, and can it really kill someone within five steps?

The scientific name of the five-step snake is Jian. The kissing adder is a type of viper that lives in southern my country and Taiwan Province. It is a unique venomous snake in my country.

Our country has long conducted research and observations on the sharp-nosed adder, and our ancestors have already had a certain understanding of them. In ancient times, our ancestors called it "Ba". Later, the word "Ba" evolved into a place name and a person's name, instead of the name of this poisonous snake.

During the Ming Dynasty, the famous medical scientist Li Shizhen went to the wild to catch the snake in order to understand its characteristics. At that time, this kind of snake was called "White Flower Snake", so Li Shizhen wrote "The Legend of White Flower Snake" to describe this venomous snake.

According to modern biological classification, the five-step snake belongs to the subfamily Viperidae of the order Viperidae. Because the snake's head is very pointed, it is called the sharp-nosed viper.

Generally speaking, the body length of a sharp-nosed adder is between 120 cm and 150 cm, and occasionally it exceeds 2 meters. The entire body of the adder is the color of dead leaves, and its body is covered with black-edged triangular stripes.

The adder mainly lives in woods at an altitude of 400-700 meters, and also likes to live near ditches. It spends about 3 months each year in hibernation.

The food of the adder is very mixed. It eats all kinds of small creatures, such as rats, birds, and insects. They are not excluded.

When talking about sharp-nosed adders, it is indispensable to mention their toxicity. Since it is called a five-step snake, it is naturally very poisonous.

However, it needs to be explained. , the term "five-step snake" is relatively not widespread and is rather exaggerated. Among the people, their more popular nickname is the Hundred-step Snake, which does not look as scary as the Five-step Snake (of course, it does not mean death after a hundred steps).

After research, biologists discovered that the venom of the sharp-nosed adder contains hemolytic toxin. Once bitten by a sharp-nosed adder, bleeding will continue. Generally, we can use pressure to stop bleeding when there is a wound, but this has no effect on the bite of the sharp-nosed adder. Therefore, prey bitten by the sharp-nosed adder is likely to bleed profusely.

At the same time, the venom of the sharp-nosed adder seems to contain other toxins, which can cause the prey's wounds to fester and swell, and can also cause the bitten prey to become dizzy.

So, how toxic is it?

In fact, different snakes have different toxins, so it is not easy to compare them in an absolute sense. However, from the reports of bites, taking a certain area in Hunan Province of my country as an example, almost all people bitten by sharp-nosed adders died, while more people bitten by cobras survived. .

Although the adder is highly venomous, it is not useless and must be exterminated. In fact, like many poisonous creatures, the adder can be used as medicine. In terms of treating tetanus, leprosy, rheumatism, joint pain, etc., the medicinal value of the adder is relatively high.

At the same time, what kind of snake is it? Another use, which many people may easily think of, is to make wine. However, we hereby solemnly declare that non-professionals should not use the adder to make wine on their own. After all, snakes are very aggressive creatures. Some snakes can even continue to bite people after their heads are cut off.

Moreover, the adder is a relatively ferocious snake and is very aggressive. Therefore, if you encounter them in the wild, do not act rashly.