Description: H. jani grows from 10 to 16 inches in total length (including tail), record 20 inches. 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.

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

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

Found in these States: AZ | CO | KS | NM | OK | TX

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

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 1.1 inches long by 3/8 inches wide. The hatchlings are about 5.9 inches in total length.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the wide distribution, large number of locations, presumed large population, lack of major threats, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Subspecies: Three with just one found in our range:
   Tamaulipas Nightsnake - (Hypsiglena jani dunklei)
   San Luis Potosi Nightsnake - (Hypsiglena jani jani)
   Texas Nightsnake - (Hypsiglena jani texana)

Taxonomy: