NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Hypsiglena chlorophaea Cope, 1860
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Desert Nightsnake (Hypsiglena chlorophaea). Species of reptile.
iNaturalist user: nmoorhatch · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Hypsiglena chlorophaea, commonly known as the desert nightsnake, is a species of rear-fanged colubrid snake native to North America. It is found throughout regions of Mexico, the United States, and in a small, isolated population in British Columbia, Canada. Known for its highly secretive, nocturnal nature, it is a mildly venomous species that poses no danger to humans.
Wikipedia contributors, Hypsiglena chlorophaea; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T14:32:12.347403+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hypsiglena chlorophaea Cope, 1860
- Name authority
- Cope, 1860
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Hypsiglena
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyColubridae
- subfamilyDipsadinae
- genusHypsiglena
- speciesHypsiglena chlorophaea Cope, 1860
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Hypsiglena. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| San Luis Potosi Nightsnake [jani]Hypsiglena jani (Dugès, 1865) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Islas Revillagigedo NightsnakeHypsiglena unaocularus Tanner, 1946 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Rio Verde NightsnakeHypsiglena tanzeri Dixon & Lieb, 1972 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Hypsiglena ochrorhynchus lorealus Tanner, 1946 Tanner, 1946 | synonym |
| Hypsiglena torquata tiburonensis Tanner, 1981 Tanner, 1981 | synonym |
| Hypsiglena ochrorhynchus deserticola Tanner, 1946 Tanner, 1946 | synonym |
| Hypsiglena chlorophaea loreala Tanner, 1944 Tanner, 1944 | ambiguous synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Hypsiglena&species=chlorophaea Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6N4PT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.