''Cicindela'', commonly known as common tiger beetles
are generally brightly colored and metallic
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s, often with some sort of patterning of ivory or cream-colored markings. They are most abundant and diverse in habitats very often near bodies of water with sandy or occasionally clay soils; they can be found along rivers, sea and lake shores, sand dunes, around dry lakebeds, on clay banks, or woodland paths.
Etymology
The word "''Cicindela''" comes from the Latin word "cicindela", meaning "glowworm". This comes from the fact that members of the genus ''Cicindela'' are metallic and sometimes flashing.
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Systematics
The genus ''Cicindela'' is (in its broadest historical sense) the largest genus of tiger beetle
Tiger beetles are a family of beetles, Cicindelidae, known for their aggressive predatory habits and running speed. The fastest known species of tiger beetle, '' Rivacindela hudsoni'', can run at a speed of , or about 125 body lengths per second. ...
s, and they occur worldwide. The status of the genus is constantly in a state of flux, as various authorities on different continents have vastly different opinions about which (if any) of the dozens of subgenera
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
traditionally recognized within the genus are deserving of being accorded status as independent genera. Moreover, this is one of the few insect taxa in which the rank of subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
has traditionally been used repeatedly, and essentially no two classifications consistently treat the various members of the genus as to which are species and which are subspecies.
Treated as a single genus, and even with a fairly conservative estimate of species, there are over 850 (or even up to 2,300) species in the group[Proença, S.J.R, Cytogenetic variability in three species of the genus Cicindela (s.l.) (Coleoptera, Cicindelidae): Karyotypes and localization of 18S rDNA genes.Genetics and Molecular Biology, 27, 4, 555-560 (2004)] (thus being almost equal to the subtribe Cicindelina ( W.Horn, 1908), with several thousand published names applied, collectively. Currently most of the subgenera below are not settled, being considered genera of their own by some, and subgenera of the genus ''Cicindela'' by others. The genus is divided into the following subgenera:
*'' Cicindela (Ancylia)''
*'' Cicindela (Archidela)''
*'' Cicindela (Austrocicindela)''
*'' Cicindela (Brasiella)''
*'' Cicindela (Calochroa)''
*'' Cicindela (Calomera)''
*'' Cicindela (Cephalota)''
*'' Cicindela (Chaetodera)''
*'' Cicindela (Cicindela)''
*'' Cicindela (Cicindelidia)''
*'' Cicindela (Cosmodela)''
*'' Cicindela (Cylindera)''
*'' Cicindela (Duponti)''
*'' Cicindela (Euzona)''
*'' Cicindela (Fulgoris)''
*'' Cicindela (Habroscelimorpha)''
*'' Cicindela (Hypaetha)''
*'' Cicindela (Jansonia)''
*'' Cicindela (Lophyridia)''
*''Cicindela (Macfarlandia)
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often v ...
''
*''Cicindela (Micromentignatha)
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often v ...
''
*''Cicindela (Myriochile)
''Cicindela'', commonly known as common tiger beetles are generally brightly colored and metallic beetles, often with some sort of patterning of ivory or cream-colored markings. They are most abundant and diverse in habitats very often near bodi ...
''
*'' Cicindela (Neolaphyra)''
*'' Cicindela (Opilidia)''
*'' Cicindela (Pachydela)''
*'' Cicindela (Pancallia)''
*'' Cicindela (Rivacindela)''
*'' Cicindela (Sophiodela)''
*'' Cicindela (Tribonia)''
For a list of species, see List of ''Cicindela'' species.
The subgenus ''Cicindela (Cicindela)'', or ''Cicindela'' ''sensu stricto
''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...
'' contains the following species:
*'' Cicindela albissima''
*''Cicindela altaica
''Cicindela altaica'' is a species of tiger beetle in the genus '' Cicindela''. It was described by Eschscholtz in 1829 and is endemic to Altai Mountains in Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country ...
''
*'' Cicindela ancocisconensis''
*'' Cicindela arenicola''
*'' Cicindela asiatica''
*'' Cicindela bellissima''
*'' Cicindela campestris''
*'' Cicindela clypeata''
*'' Cicindela coerulea''
*'' Cicindela colombica''
*'' Cicindela decemnotata''
*'' Cicindela denverensis''
*'' Cicindela depressula''
*''Cicindela dorsalis
''Habroscelimorpha dorsalis'', commonly known as the eastern beach tiger beetle, is a species of flashy tiger beetle in the family Cicindelidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Description
The body length is . The head and th ...
''
*'' Cicindela duodecimguttata''
*'' Cicindela fabrici''
*'' Cicindela formosa''
*'' Cicindela fulgida''
*'' Cicindela gallica''
*'' Cicindela gemmata''
*'' Cicindela granulata''
*''Cicindela hirticollis
''Cicindela hirticollis'' is a species of tiger beetle that is commonly found in sand bars and sandy beaches, is medium-sized, is about long, and is active in the summer. The dorsal surfaces of the head, prothorax, and elytra are dark brown. T ...
''
*'' Cicindela hybrida''
*'' Cicindela iberica''
*'' Cicindela japana''
*'' Cicindela kozhantschikovi''
*'' Cicindela lacteola''
*'' Cicindela lengi''
*'' Cicindela lewisii''
*'' Cicindela ligi''
*'' Cicindela limbalis''
*'' Cicindela limbata''
*'' Cicindela longilabris''
*'' Cicindela lusitanica''
*'' Cicindela majalis''
*'' Cicindela marginata''
*'' Cicindela maroccana''
*'' Cicindela nebraskana''
*'' Cicindela nigrior''
*'' Cicindela ohlone''
*'' Cicindela oregona''
*'' Cicindela parowana''
*'' Cicindela patruela''
*'' Cicindela plutonica''
*'' Cicindela pugetana''
*'' Cicindela pulchra''
*'' Cicindela punctulata''
*'' Cicindela purpurea''
*'' Cicindela repanda''
*'' Cicindela resplendens''
*'' Cicindela restricta''
*'' Cicindela sachalinensis''
*'' Cicindela sahlbergii''
*'' Cicindela scutellaris''
*''Cicindela sexguttata
The six-spotted tiger beetle, also known as the six-spotted green tiger beetle (''Cicindela sexguttata''), is a common North American species of Tiger beetles in the Cicindelinae subfamily. It is common in many areas of the states, and is well k ...
''
*'' Cicindela soluta''
*'' Cicindela songorica''
*'' Cicindela splendida''
*'' Cicindela sylvatica''
*'' Cicindela sylvicola''
*'' Cicindela tenuicincta''
*'' Cicindela theatina''
*'' Cicindela tranquebarica''
*'' Cicindela transbaicalica''
*'' Cicindela turkestanika''
*'' Cicindela waynei''
Gallery
File:Cicindela depressula ssp depressula Washington 081015.jpg, '' Cicindela depressula ssp depressula''
File:Cicindela duponti in Kadavoor.jpg, '' Cicindela duponti''
Image:Cicindelid bangalore.jpg, '' Cicindela aurofasciata''
Image:Cicindela.campestris.1809.jpg, '' Cicindela campestris''
Image:Cicindela chinensis flammifera MHNT.ZOO.2004.0.175.jpg, ''Cicindela chinensis''
Image:Dünen-Sandlaufkäfer.jpg, '' Cicindela hybrida''
File:Cicindela marginata Fabricius - ZooKeys-245-001-g012.jpeg, '' Cicindela marginata''
Image:Salt Creek Tiger Beetle.jpg, '' Cicindela nevadica lincolniana''
Image:Green tiger beetle 1.jpg, ''Cicindela sexguttata
The six-spotted tiger beetle, also known as the six-spotted green tiger beetle (''Cicindela sexguttata''), is a common North American species of Tiger beetles in the Cicindelinae subfamily. It is common in many areas of the states, and is well k ...
''
Image:Cicindela sexguttata - six-spotted tiger beetle - desc-iridescent in sunlight on ground.jpg, ''Cicindela sexguttata
The six-spotted tiger beetle, also known as the six-spotted green tiger beetle (''Cicindela sexguttata''), is a common North American species of Tiger beetles in the Cicindelinae subfamily. It is common in many areas of the states, and is well k ...
''
Image:Cicindela sylvicola01.jpg, '' Cicindela sylvicola''
File:Cicindela tranquebarica.jpg, '' Cicindela tranquebarica''
File:Cicindela albissima.jpg, '' Cicindela albissima''
File:Cicindela clypeata.jpg, ''Cicindela clypeata''
Notes
References
* ''Northeastern Tiger Beetles: A Field Guide to Tiger Beetles of New England and Eastern Canada'' by Jonathan G. Leonard and Ross T. Bell. CRC Press (1999).
* ''Tiger Beetles of Alberta: Killers on the Clay, Stalkers on the Sand'' by John Acorn. University of Alberta Press, 2001.
* ''Tiger Beetles: The Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity of the Cicindelids'' by David L. Pearson and Alfried P. Vogler. Cornell University Press, 2001.
* ''A Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada'' by David L. Pearson, C. Barry Knisley and Charles J. Kazilek. Oxford University Press, 2005.
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4165862
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus