Hypsiglena jani

Hypsiglena jani
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Hypsiglena
Species:	H. jani
Binomial name
	Hypsiglena jani; (Dugès, 1865)
	The distribution of Hypsiglena jani (brown), which now includes the two former subspecies Hypsiglena torquata dunklei (orange), and Hypsiglena torquata texana (yellow).
Synonyms
	Liophis janii ; Dugès, 1865; Hypsiglena texana ; Stejneger, 1893; Hypsiglena ochrorhynchus texana ; — Steneger & Barbour, 1917; Hypsiglena torquata dunklei ; Taylor, 1938; Hypsiglena torquata texana ; — A.H. Wright & A.A. Wright, 1957; Hypsiglena ochrorhynchus janii ; — W.W. Tanner, 1944; Hypsiglena torquata jani ; — Crother, 2000; Hypsiglena jani ; — Mulcahy, 2007;

Hypsiglena jani, commonly known as the Texas night snake or the Chihuahuan night snake, is a small species of mildly venomous snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northeastern Mexico.

Etymology

The epithet, jani, is in honor of Italian taxonomist Giorgio Jan.^[8]

Description

H. jani grows from 10 to 16 inches (25 to 41 centimetres) in total length (including tail), record 20 inches (51 cm).^[9] It is typically a light gray or tan in color, with dark brown or dark gray blotching down the back,^[10] and has an unmarked underside.^{[citation needed]} It has smooth dorsal scales.^[10] The eye has a vertically elliptical pupil.^[10] H. jani is rear-fanged, and is considered to be venomous, though it is not dangerous to humans.^{[citation needed]}

Behavior

As the common names imply, H. jani is a primarily nocturnal snake.^{[citation needed]}

Diet

The diet of H. jani consists of primarily lizards, but it will also eat smaller snakes and occasionally soft bodied insects.^{[citation needed]}

Habitat

H. jani prefers semi-arid habitats with rocky soils.^{[citation needed]}

Reproduction

H. jani is an oviparous species that breeds in the spring rainy season, laying 4–6 eggs that take approximately 8 weeks to incubate before hatching. The eggs average 27 mm (1.1 in) long by 10 mm (3⁄8 in) wide. The hatchlings are about 15 cm (5.9 in) in total length.^[6]

Geographic range

H. jani ranges from southern Kansas to southern Colorado, and south throughout New Mexico, the western half of Texas to central Mexico.^[1]

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.^[2]

Hypsiglena jani dunklei Taylor, 1938
Hypsiglena jani jani (Dugès, 1865)
Hypsiglena jani texana Stejneger, 1893

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Hypsiglena.

References

^ ^a ^b Hammerson, G.A. (2019). "Hypsiglena jani ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T90067384A90067431. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Species Hypsiglena jani at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
^ Stejneger L, Barbour T (1917). A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (Hypsiglena ochrorhynchus texana, p. 93).
^ Taylor EH (1938). "On Mexican Snakes of the Genera Trimorphodon and Hypsiglena ". University of Kansas Science Bulletin 25 (16): 357–383. (Hypsiglena torquata dunklei, new subspecies, pp. 374–375 + Plate XXXVII, figure 1).
^ Global Names Index. gni.globalnames.org.
^ ^a ^b Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes) (Hypsiglena torquata texana, pp. 326–330, Figure 101 + Map 30 on p. 315).
^ Mulcahy DG (2007). "Molecular systematics of neotropical cat-eyed snakes: a test of the monophyly of Leptodeirini (Colubridae: Dipsadinae) with implications for character evolution and biogeography". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 92: 483–500. (Hypsiglena jani).
^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Hypsiglena jani, p. 133).
^ Conant R (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. + Plates 1-48. ISBN 0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Hypsiglena torquata texana, p. 217 + Plate 33 + Map 170).
^ ^a ^b ^c Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 plates, 207 figures. ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. (Hypsiglena jani, pp409410 + Plate 39).

External links

Herps of Texas: Hypsiglena jani

This article relating to Dipsadinae is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[IUCN-1] Hammerson, G.A. (2019). "Hypsiglena jani ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T90067384A90067431. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[RDB-2] Species Hypsiglena jani at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

[3] Stejneger L, Barbour T (1917). A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (Hypsiglena ochrorhynchus texana, p. 93).

[4] Taylor EH (1938). "On Mexican Snakes of the Genera Trimorphodon and Hypsiglena ". University of Kansas Science Bulletin 25 (16): 357–383. (Hypsiglena torquata dunklei, new subspecies, pp. 374–375 + Plate XXXVII, figure 1).

[5] Global Names Index. gni.globalnames.org.

[Wr&Wr1957-6] Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes) (Hypsiglena torquata texana, pp. 326–330, Figure 101 + Map 30 on p. 315).

[7] Mulcahy DG (2007). "Molecular systematics of neotropical cat-eyed snakes: a test of the monophyly of Leptodeirini (Colubridae: Dipsadinae) with implications for character evolution and biogeography". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 92: 483–500. (Hypsiglena jani).

[8] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Hypsiglena jani, p. 133).

[9] Conant R (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. + Plates 1-48. ISBN 0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Hypsiglena torquata texana, p. 217 + Plate 33 + Map 170).

[PC&C-10] Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 plates, 207 figures. ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. (Hypsiglena jani, pp409410 + Plate 39).

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