Nyctanassa
Genus of birds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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| Nyctanassa | |
|---|---|
| |
| Yellow-crowned night heron (N. violacea) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Pelecaniformes |
| Family: | Ardeidae |
| Subfamily: | Ardeinae |
| Genus: | Nyctanassa Stejneger, 1887 |
| Type species | |
| Ardea violacea Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Species | |
|
N. violacea | |
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]
Etymology
The genus name Nyctanassa combines the Ancient Greek: νύξ : núx, genitive νυκτός : nuktós meaning "night" with άνασσα : ánassa meaning "queen" or "lady".[3]
Species
The genus contains the following two species, of which only one is still extant:[4]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Nyctanassa violacea | Yellow-crowned night heron | United States (South Florida, Gulf Coast, and eastern Texas), Mexico, Central America, Galápagos, the Caribbean and northern South America (south to Peru and Brazil) |
 | Nyctanassa carcinocatactes | Bermuda night heron | Bermuda; extinct |
