Black mamba
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| Dendroaspis polylepsis |
The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is the largest venomous snake in Africa and the second largest venomous snake in the world, with an average length around 8 feet (2.5 m), but may grow to over 14 feet (4.5 m). It got its name because of the inky black coloration inside of its mouth; the actual color of the skin is varied: dull yellowish-green to a gun-metal grey. It is one of the fastest snakes in the world, capable of moving at 12 to 15 mph.
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[edit] Behavior
Bites from black mambas to humans are rare. [1]Black Mambas tend to become extremely aggressive when threatened. If confronted by a large threat, such as a human, the Black Mamba will most often defend its territory. When it is in the "strike" position it flattens its neck to display its narrow hood, flicks its tongue with its mouth open and hisses very loudly. It may rear up to more than half its full body length from the ground. When warding off a threat, the black mamba can deliver multiple deadly strikes. The standing strike position of the Black Mamba is meant to intimidate its threat.
Black mamba tend to live in permanent lairs for long periods if not disturbed. Black mambas often live in vacated insect mounds or hollow trees. Black mambas are diurnal snakes that hunt prey actively. When hunting small animals, the Black Mamba delivers a single bite and backs off, waiting for the neurotoxin in its venom to paralyze the prey. When killing a bird, however, the Black Mamba will cling to its prey, preventing it from flying away, waiting for the venom to take effect.
[edit] Venom
Black mamba venom contains neurotoxins and cardiotoxins[2]. Its bite delivers about 100-120 mg of venom on average, however it can deliver up to 400 mg of venom; 10 to 15 mg is deadly to a human adult. Black mamba bites are not always fatal as several different factors, such as amount of venom and location of the bite, are involved. However, if the venom reaches the blood stream quickly, the chance of fatality drastically rises. The initial symptom of the bite is local pain in the bite area, although not as severe as snakes with hemotoxins. The victim then experiences a tingling sensation in the extremities, drooping eyelids, tunnel vision, sweating, excessive salivation, and lack of muscle control (specifically the mouth and tongue). If the victim does not receive medical attention, symptoms progress to nausea, shortness of breath, confusion, and temporary paralysis. Eventually, the victim experiences convulsions, respiratory failure, and coma, and dies due to suffocation resulting from paralysis of the muscles used for breathing. With proper treatment an estimated 99% of humans survive black mamba bites. Without treatment, mortality rates are 100%[3]. The paralysis caused by the venom is not permanent although many victims require artificial respiration until the body's own defenses can completely rid the bloodstream of the venom.
In general, most healthy adult humans don't survive a moderate to severe bite without antivenom for any more than 1 hour and those that make it past the half-hour mark without treatment usually face serious complications, whereas a low-severity bite victim will have up 3 hours to get medical assistance before irreversible effects such as brain damage set in. Victims of low-severity bites approaching the fourth hour without treatment generally succumb to the venom.
[edit] Cultural references
- The Air Jordan XIX (19) basketball shoe's design was inspired by the black mamba.
- Uma Thurman's character Beatrix Kiddo in the Kill Bill movie series has the codename "Black Mamba", along with several of the other characters given snake codenames. The character of Budd was killed by a black mamba planted in a suitcase full of money. As he lays dying, she reads to him a compilation of facts about the snake's venom, similar to the information listed above.
- "Black Mamba" is also a name of a mecha from Heavy Gear.
- A black mamba features in Roald Dahl's autobiographical "Going Solo".
- Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers gave himself the nickname "Black Mamba".
- "Black Mamba" is the title of a song by the rock band The Academy Is....
- "Black Mamba" is the name of an inverted coaster at the Phantasialand, Nordrheinwestfahlen, Germany
- A black mamba was also the protagonist in John Godey's "The Snake"
- On the MTV show Wildboyz, there are brief segments where a sock puppet resembling a black mamba strikes sleeping cast and crew members in the face.
- In the PlayStation 2 game Fight Night: Round 2, one of the available boxers is called "Black Mamba".
- There is a Marvel Comics character named Black Mamba
[edit] References
- ^ kingsnake.com
- ^ Black mamba venom facts from Discovery.com
- ^ http://www.seanthomas.net/oldsite/danger.html
