Sandy efa - description, where it lives, features. Sandy ephas: what it looks like, where it is found, is the snake dangerous? Sandy ephas snake

Sandy efa(Echis carinatus) Snake with pretty beautiful name efa is very common in the foothills and valleys Central Asia. There is so much talk about this snake here that efa is already becoming almost legendary. There is especially much talk about its danger to humans. A small drop of its poison is enough to kill an entire company of soldiers. If an efa bites, the person is doomed; even if he survives, he will remain crippled forever.

In fact, these are 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 ephas bites. The sand ephas ranks seventh among the twenty most dangerous snakes to humans. In Africa he dies from its poison more people than from everyone African snakes combined.

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

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 the west of the Hindustan Peninsula. Lives in lumpy sands overgrown with saxaul, in clay deserts, thickets of bushes, on river cliffs and in ruins. IN favorable conditions Epha can be quite numerous. For example, in the valley of the Murgab River, over an area of ​​about 1.5 km, snake catchers produced more than 2 thousand eff.

Efa is an amazing snake. In many ways, she differs from her cold-blooded counterparts. For example, ephas may not hibernate if the winter is not cold. They can mate in January. And by March, small snakes appear, while in other snakes they appear no earlier than June. Surprisingly, the efa does not lay eggs and gives birth to live snakes. The female brings from 3 to 16 young reptiles 10-16 cm long.

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, its prey is centipedes, spiders, grasshoppers, and midges. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the efa is quite nimble and cannot, like many snakes, simply lie in the sun. But in order to digest large prey, you need for a long time be at rest.

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

Efa very rarely crawls into people's houses, but it still happens sometimes. Similar cases have been recorded in Egypt. You need 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 entered 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 because the poison acted very quickly.

In India, sand faff is very common. Settles in areas where there is sandy soil. Here she is credited with most of the deaths caused by snake bites; Workers in the fields especially suffer from it.

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

As already noted, the poison of efa is very toxic. It sharply reduces the level of fibrinogen in the blood, which causes heavy bleeding, both in the bite area 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 venomous snakes. Every fifth person bitten by ephas dies. To stop the effect of the poison that has entered the body until doctors arrive or until the victim is taken to the nearest hospital, a number of actions must be taken. A first aid measure for a bite is to immediately suck out the venom from the wounds, so that a significant part of the venom can be removed from the body. Squeezing out the venom with your fingers and suctioning should be done within 7-10 minutes after the bite. Suctioning is completely safe for the people doing it. A tourniquet should not be applied. It practically does not delay the process of absorption of poisons.

To avoid having to use these actions in life, you must be careful, especially if you know that there may be a sand efa nearby. Because of its light spots, the efu is easy to spot on the sand. The snakes themselves try to avoid people and go around 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 sound, and can only bite when a person walks towards 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.

We present to you the top 10 the most poisonous snakes on the planet. Snakes can be found anywhere from the forests and steppes of Russia to the Australian deserts and African tropics. According to statistics, snake bites cause about 125 thousand deaths per year worldwide.

Good news: chances of dying from snake bite are miniscule compared to the risk of death from cancer, heart disease, or car accident. Bad news: to be bitten by a snake is very painful way die. Those lucky enough to survive described various horrific symptoms, such as the inability to breathe normally, numbness in their limbs and failure of various organs. And although doctors have developed many antidotes, the cure still needs to be obtained. However, even the most poisonous snake in the world does not sleep at all and sees how to bite a person. Usually these creatures want to be left alone. And it is better to fulfill this desire if you value your life.

10. Kaisaka, also known as labaria (Bothrops atrox) – lethal dose of poison 50 mg

Due to the yellow color of the chin, this representative of the pit snakes from the viper family is also called the “yellow beard.” Kaisaka is an aggressive creature that often crawls into human habitation. Found in Central America and tropical South America. The venom of this snake acts very quickly and is fatal within a few minutes. Workers in coffee and banana plantations often become victims of labaria.

9. Black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) – 10-15 mg

The snake, sometimes called the "black mouth", also known as the black mamba, inhabits the savannas and woodlands of tropical Africa and can often be found near termite mounds. The body color varies from gray to dark brown, and the reptile's name comes from the black mouth cavity, this can be seen in the photo of the attacking mamba. Black mamba - fast snake, possessing extremely powerful poison containing a toxic mixture of neurotoxin and cardiotoxin. It kills most victims, including humans, within 20 minutes. Despite its aggressive reputation, the mamba does not rush at a person first and attacks only when it is cornered or taken by surprise. The mamba is also the longest species of venomous snake in Africa and the second longest in the world.

8. Boomslang (Dispholidus typus) – lethal dose 10-12 mg

The most beautiful snake from the colubrid family lives in Sub-Saharan Africa and hunts by expanding the front part of its body. Usually it hangs motionless on a tree or bush, imitating a branch with its shape. For this reason, it was called a “tree snake” by the Dutch settlers (boom - tree, slang - snake). Boomslang injects poison when chewing its victim, because its teeth are located almost in the middle of its mouth, and not at its beginning, like other representatives of the rating of the most poisonous snakes in the world. Its venom is dominated not by a neurotoxin, but by a hemotoxin, which causes the destruction of red blood cells. Boomslang is a very shy snake and thanks to its good eyesight is able to promptly avoid meeting a person. However, if you grab it, the bite is inevitable. This is how the famous herpentologist and zoologist Carl Paterson Schmidt died from a boomslang in 1957.

7. King Cobra (Ophiophagus Hannah) – 7 mg

Is the longest poisonous snake on Earth. Most individuals reach 3-4 meters in length, and there are also 5.6-meter giants. The queen snake's venom is so dangerous that it can kill an elephant in just a few hours. For a person, 15 minutes is enough. Fortunately for humans, the cobra prefers not to waste its main weapon and does not bite without warning. She can bite “idly”, without injecting poison or releasing a minimal amount of it.

Lives king cobra V tropical forests South and Southeast Asia, and prefers to hunt rat snakes. She does not disdain poisonous “colleagues”.

6. Taipan (Oxyuranus) – 5 mg

In sixth place on the snake hit parade is the most dangerous snake in Australia and one of the most poisonous creatures on Earth. If you've ever heard the expression “be careful, you're dealing with a sensitive, excitable little bastard,” it perfectly describes the taipan. Any movement near this nervous reptile will most likely provoke an attack. The taipan's venom contains a neurotoxin that works by paralyzing the victim's muscles, which in turn stops breathing. Without an antidote, a taipan bite always ends in death. The person who has been bitten has approximately 30 minutes to get to the hospital.

5. Sandy epha (Echis carinatus) – 5 mg

About 5 mg of poison is enough to kill a person. This is perhaps the most dangerous and deadly snake on our list, as scientists believe that the sand ephas has killed more people in its native range than other snake species combined. The poisonous reptile is so mobile and aggressive that it bites several times. Ephs are not afraid of people; they often crawl into homes, basements and utility rooms in search of food. Those who survive an epha attack may experience kidney problems due to blood coagulation defects.

4. Harlequin adder (Micrurus fulvius) – 4 mg

Mother Nature's brightly colored snake is found in the southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico. This is the only snake in North America, laying eggs rather than giving birth to young. This poisonous beauty prefers not to attack people, but if he really has to, he attacks with lightning speed and without help, the death of the victim occurs within 20 hours. Therefore, it is better to admire him on video and never meet him in life.

3. Indian krait (Bungarus caeruleus) – 2.5 mg

These small reptiles and their relative, the ribbon krait (Bungarus multicinctus), are responsible for the deaths of thousands of people every year across South Asia. In their range from Pakistan to India and Sri Lanka, kraits often crawl into homes to hunt rodents and often bite people while they sleep. The bite of this snake causes paralysis of the facial muscles and sometimes the entire body. Death from respiratory failure can occur within 1 to 6 hours if antivenom is not administered.

2. Tiger snake (Notechis scutatus) – fatal dose 1.5 mg

It lives on the southern edge of Australia and nearby islands in the region. When this fierce, venomous predator prepares to strike, it bends its head and neck in the manner of Asian and African cobras. Tiger snakes are very aggressive and kill more people in Australia than any other snake on this continent.

1. Enhydrina schistosa – 1.5 mg

Although the question is which snake is the most poisonous is controversial, enhydrina is often considered to be the deadliest of all.

This reptile is known not only to be extremely poisonous, but also very aggressive. This type of sea snake is responsible for more than 50% of all attacks sea ​​snakes per person and is responsible for about 90% of all deaths caused by sea snake bites.

Most sea snakes are poisonous, so if you see one in the water, swim away!

Fortunately, none of the top 10 most poisonous snakes are found in the Russian Federation. The most poisonous snake in Russia is the Viper, which is also one of the most common. The guaranteed toxic dose is 40-50 mg. The number of deaths is so small that scientists have not yet been able to determine a more accurate dosage.

This snake has a short name, like an exhalation: efa. She is known everywhere in Central Asia; in the valleys and foothills she was seen so often that people thought that efa was haunting them.

In fact, this snake is most afraid of people, and when they approach, it makes sounds similar to those we hear when sharpening knives on a grindstone. It is not for nothing that in Uzbekistan the efu is called “charkh iyylon” - which literally means a noisy snake. With these actions, the efa resembles a cobra, which raises its head and takes a threatening stance to stop the ill-wisher.

The most incredible tales are told about efa, especially about its potent poison. They say that from its bite a person immediately dies, and if he does not die, then he remains crippled forever. However, there is some truth in such stories. Indeed, the bite of an epha can be fatal for a person, and there were many cases where if a person did not die, he was sick for a long time. That is why in years past, sending travelers to long journey, advised to stay away from the formidable eff. However, those scary times have long since sunk into oblivion, and the efu is now as difficult to find as many other snakes, most of which are on the verge of extinction. Nowadays, travelers travel more often by car, even getting to places where it is impossible to travel.

Efa is a small snake, its length can reach 70-76 centimeters. For comparison: the viper can be 150 centimeters long, the cobra is slightly smaller - up to 130. But unlike the viper and cobra, the efa is beautiful and impressive. The side of the snake is decorated with a light zigzag stripe, its entire body is covered with white spots, and on the head there is a kind of cross mark, which distinguishes the efu from its other brothers. I have heard more than once that evil people used efu to eliminate their enemies. But ephs have long shunned people, and they never approach buildings; they crawl away as soon as they hear a person. And then - the efa never attacks, it will certainly warn the uninvited traveler with its rustling sound, and can only bite when a person steps on it.

Efa, in its behavior and way of life, is unlike any other snake. I myself had to deal with it more than once in a variety of circumstances.

In the Sumbar Valley near the village of Gerkez we were on an expedition, the purpose of which was to study reptiles during hibernation. So, on one of the warm January days - and here, in the Turkmen subtropics, they are not uncommon - a local boy came running and said that he had seen a snake wedding. We didn’t believe him: despite the warm weather, snakes, as a rule, do not wake up from hibernation. But I knew that ephas were an exception. For the winter they do not hide deeply, but in warm weather They may crawl out. But for snakes to mate in January... It is unlikely. But nevertheless, we hurried after the boy. And, indeed, we saw: a snake ball, like some kind of creature, was moving among the dry stems of grass. I was not mistaken: these were ephs, they did not pay any attention to us, at such moments almost all creatures lose caution.

In India it is called “wound”, in Afghanistan and Pakistan - “Pashto”, in Uzbekistan - “boiling snake”. But, regardless of the name, sand epha (lat. Echis carinatus) causes fear wherever she appears. Its bite is fatal for every fifth person, and those who managed to survive cannot be called “lucky”: the venom of epha leads to kidney problems that bother the victim for the rest of his life.

This poisonous snake is found in Central Asia and North Africa. The Central Asian Efa (lat. Echis carinatus multisquamatus) is a subspecies of sand ephas, which is sometimes considered as a separate species. Prefers lumpy sands with saxaul thickets, river cliffs and abandoned dwellings.

But he doesn’t like to get close to human habitation. It attacks only when the person himself disturbs it. Protecting himself and his offspring, he acts with lightning speed, putting all his strength and rage into the throw. By the way, she can jump to a height of up to half her body, so it is not recommended to approach her closer than 2-3 meters.

The sand faff warns the enemy of its attack not by hissing, but by a loud rustling sound, which it makes when the jagged side scales rub. The sound itself resembles the crackling of hot oil in a frying pan, for which it was nicknamed the “boiling” or “noisy” snake.

The method of movement of the sand faff is also interesting. She moves sideways, first throwing her head to the side, then moving the back of her body sideways and slightly forward, and finally pulling up the rest of her body. This makes it much easier for her to find support on an unstable sandy soil. After such movement, separate oblique strips with hooked ends remain on the sand.

The sand faff moves quite quickly. In general, this is a nimble and active reptile that does not like to lie on a stone for a long time, like its other relatives. It is because of this that its diet includes mobile and small desert inhabitants: small rodents, frogs, lizards, toads and small snakes of other species. Young people are content with scolopedras, scorpions, locusts and very small lizards.

The sand epha hunts both during the day and at night. In the heat it hides, crawling out of its hiding places only at sunset. During the rest of the year, it prefers to look for prey during daylight hours. It may not hibernate if the winters are warm enough. In this case, mating begins in January, and young snakes are born in March. If winters are cold, then the breeding season shifts by a couple of months.

It is curious that this snake does not lay eggs, but immediately gives birth to from 3 to 16 snakes, 10-16 cm long. The sand epha shows itself to be a caring mother, so it will bite anyone who dares to approach its brood.

Young snakes grow quickly, reaching a length of 50-60 cm (maximum 75 cm) by adulthood. Moreover, males are slightly larger than females. The body of adult snakes of both sexes is golden-sandy in color with large white spots along the entire length. A zigzag pattern is clearly visible on the side of the body. The bottom is light yellow, and the head is decorated with a kind of cross. Probably to remind you: stay away from me!

Not all snakes come from eggs. There is a viviparous snake efa, photos and videos of which we invite you to watch today. Efa is not only viviparous, but also very poisonous.

The sand ephas is one of the ten most poisonous snakes on our planet. Its bite is extremely painful and dangerous. Let's get to know this amazing snake better.

This snake is a reptile that scientists classify as a member of the Squamate order. The name of this animal comes from the Latin - “Echis carinatus”. The sand ephas belongs to the viper snake family and is considered one of the ten most poisonous snakes in the world.

What does Sandy Efa look like?

Representatives of this species of reptiles in adulthood acquire not very large sizes. Very rarely their length exceeds 100 centimeters. Typically, the length of an adult sand epha is approximately 70 centimeters. These animals are quite noticeable because they have a fairly bright yellow or golden color. The body of the efa is “decorated” with a long zigzag pattern from the head to the end of the body, and the entire snake is covered with light spots (on the body) and dark spots (on the head). If you look at everything dark spots on the head, you can see something like a cross.

It is not for nothing that Efa belongs specifically to the Scaly order, because there are small ribbed scales all over its body. The scales, which are located on the sides of the snake’s body, have jagged ribs.

The snake moves very interestingly: it first throws its head to the side, then throws the back part of its body forward and to the side, and only then pulls up the front part of itself. This type of movement is called "lateral movement". After the snake has crawled across the sand, its trace remains in the form of oblique stripes.

Features of the Efa lifestyle

Snakes of this species are found in constant movement all my life. No matter what the efa does, she remains mobile. Even after she has “had lunch” and the food is digested inside her, she continues to move. Such an active life for many snakes stops when the period of hibernation begins for reptiles, but this does not apply to the sand ephe. Then, when the rest of the representatives of the “snake kingdom” are already motionless and hibernating, the efa continues its active life. If winter is not cold, then its onset will not affect the activity of the snake in any way.

It is noteworthy that the sand epha is a species of viviparous snake, that is, its cubs are born in the form of small snakes. Mating of individuals of this species often occurs in January, and young snakes are born as early as March. Typically, one female gives birth to from 3 to 16 cubs.

Snakes related to this species, feed, as a rule, on insects, as well as small mammals. They love grasshoppers, various beetles, centipedes, small lizards, scorpions and even chicks. And among mammals they prefer to eat mice.

Where does the Sandy epha live?

These snakes are called Sandy because they live most often in deserts. Therefore, snakes of this species are common in Africa, and, in addition, in the deserts located on the territory of the Eurasian continent (in its Asian part). On the territory of the Hindustan Peninsula, scientists have discovered a record accumulation of sand effluents.

Most of all, ephs prefer thickets of bushes or tall grass, but they can also live on rocky surfaces, as well as clay areas.

How dangerous is sand epha?

It has been proven that the efa can kill a person with its bite. Just 1 milligram of sand epha poison is enough to kill dozens of people. Scientists conducted research and made sensational statement that every seventh person on our planet who died from a poisonous snake bite became a victim of the Sandy epha.