Nyctanassa

See also: Nycticorax

Nyctanassa
Yellow-crowned night heron (N. violacea)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Pelecaniformes
Family:	Ardeidae
Subfamily:	Ardeinae
Genus:	Nyctanassa Stejneger, 1887
Type species
Ardea violacea Linnaeus, 1758
Species
N. carcinocatactes (extinct) N. violacea

Nyctanassa is a genus of night herons from the Americas, especially (but not exclusively) warmer coastal regions. They were formerly included in the genus Nycticorax , but today all major authorities recognize them as distinct.

Taxonomy

The genus Nyctanassa was introduced in 1887 by the Norwegian born zoologist Leonhard Stejneger to accommodate a single species, the yellow-crowned night heron, which is therefore the type species. ^{[1] [2]} The genus name combines the Ancient Greek nux meaning "night" with anassa meaning "queen" or "lady". ^[3]

Species

The genus contains the following two species: ^[4]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	†Nyctanassa carcinocatactes (extinct)	Bermuda night heron	Bermuda.
	Nyctanassa violacea	Yellow-crowned night heron	south Florida, the Gulf Coast (Louisiana to Alabama), and the eastern Texas coast; Mexico, Central America, Galápagos - Ecuador, the Caribbean and northern South America (south to Peru and Brazil in coastal regions)

References

1. Stejneger, Leonhard (1887). "Review of Japanese birds: V. Ibises, storks, and herons". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 10 (628): 271–319 [295, Footnote]. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.10-628.271.
2. Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 227.
3. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 277. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
4. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 4 August 2024.

Further reading

• "Check-list of North American Birds". American Ornithologists' Union. 1998–2006. Archived from the original on 2007-07-23. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
• Holloway, Joel Ellis (2003). Dictionary of Birds of the United States: Scientific and Common Names. Timber Press. p. 134. ISBN   0-88192-600-0.
• "The Internet Bird Collection". Handbook of the Birds of the World. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
• Peterson, Alan P. (Editor). 1999. Zoological Nomenclature Resource (Zoonomen). Accessed 2007-7-29.
• Remsen, J. V., Jr., C. D. Cadena, A. Jaramillo, M. Nores, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, T. S. Schulenberg, F. G. Stiles, D. F. Stotz, and K. J. Zimmer. [Version 2007-07-29.] A classification of the bird species of South America . American Ornithologists' Union. Accessed 2007-04-10.