Hypsiglena jani


Hypsiglena jani, commonly known as the Texas night snake or the Chihuahuan night snake, is a small species of mildly venomous snake in 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.

Description

H. jani grows from in total length, record. It is typically a light gray or tan in color, with dark brown or dark gray blotching down the back, and has an unmarked underside. It has smooth dorsal scales. The eye has a vertically elliptical pupil. H. jani is rear-fanged, and is considered to be venomous, though it is not dangerous to humans.

Behavior

As the common names imply, H. jani is a primarily nocturnal snake.

Diet

The diet of H. jani consists of primarily lizards, but it will also eat smaller snakes and occasionally soft bodied insects.

Habitat

H. jani prefers semi-arid habitats with rocky soils.

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 long by wide. The hatchlings are about in total length.

Geographic range

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

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.
Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Hypsiglena.