Cicindela, is a genus of generally brightly colored and metallic tiger beetles, 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.
Systematics The genus Cicindela is (in its broadest historical sense) the largest genus of tiger beetles, 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 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 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 850Cardoso, A, Vogler, A.P. DNA taxonomy, phylogeny and Pleistocene diversification of the Cicindela hybrida species group (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae). Molecular Ecology (2005) 14, 3531–3546 (or even up to 2,300) species in the groupProença, 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) Cicindela (Micromentignatha) Cicindela (Myriochile) 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 contains the following species:
Cicindela albissima Rumpp, 1962 Cicindela altaica Eschscholtz, 1829 Cicindela amargosae Dahl, 1939 Cicindela ancocisconensis T.W.Harris, 1852 Cicindela arenicola Rumpp, 1967 Cicindela arida A.C.Davis, 1928 Cicindela asiatica Audouin & Brullé, 1839 Cicindela bellissima Leng, 1902 Cicindela campestris Linnaeus, 1758 Cicindela carolae Gage & McKown, 1991 Cicindela clypeata Fischer von Waldheim, 1821 Cicindela coerulea Pallas, 1773 Cicindela colasiana Deuve, 2019 Cicindela columbica Hatch, 1938 Cicindela cyprensis Mandl, 1944 Cicindela decemnotata Say, 1817 Cicindela denikei Brown, 1934 Cicindela denverensis Casey, 1897 Cicindela depressula Casey, 1897 Cicindela desertorum Dejean, 1825 Cicindela duodecimguttata Dejean, 1825 Cicindela formosa Say, 1817 Cicindela fulgida Say, 1823 Cicindela gallica Brullé, 1834 Cicindela gemmata Faldermann, 1835 Cicindela georgiensis Deuve, 2011 Cicindela granulata Gebler, 1843 Cicindela herbacea Klug, 1832 Cicindela hirticollis Say, 1817 Cicindela hybrida Linnaeus, 1758 Cicindela iberica Mandl, 1935 Cicindela japana Motschulsky, 1858 Cicindela javetii Chaudoir, 1861 Cicindela lacteola Pallas, 1776 Cicindela lagunensis Gautier des Cottes, 1872 Cicindela latesignata LeConte, 1851 Cicindela lengi W.Horn, 1908 Cicindela lewisii Bates, 1873 Cicindela limbalis Klug, 1834 Cicindela limbata Say, 1823 Cicindela longilabris Say, 1824 Cicindela lusitanica Mandl, 1935 Cicindela majalis Mandl, 1935 Cicindela maritima Dejean, 1822 Cicindela maroccana Fabricius, 1801 Cicindela monticola Ménétriés, 1832 Cicindela montreuli Deuve, 2012 Cicindela nebraskana Casey, 1909 Cicindela nigrior Schaupp, 1884 Cicindela nordmanni Chaudoir, 1848 Cicindela ohlone Freitag & Kavanaugh, 1993 Cicindela oregona LeConte, 1856 Cicindela parowana Wickham, 1905 Cicindela patruela Dejean, 1825 Cicindela pimeriana LeConte, 1867 Cicindela plutonica Casey, 1897 Cicindela pugetana Casey, 1914 Cicindela pulchra Say, 1823 Cicindela punctulata Olivier, 1790 Cicindela purpurea Olivier, 1790 Cicindela repanda Dejean, 1825 Cicindela resplendens Dokhtouroff, 1887 Cicindela restricta Fischer von Waldheim, 1828 Cicindela rhodoterena Tschitscherine, 1903 Cicindela sachalinensis A.Morawitz, 1862 Cicindela sahlbergii Fischer von Waldheim, 1824 Cicindela scutellaris Say, 1823 Cicindela senilis G.Horn, 1867 Cicindela sexguttata Fabricius, 1775 Cicindela soluta Dejean, 1822 Cicindela songorica Motschulsky, 1845 Cicindela splendida Hentz, 1830 Cicindela sylvatica Linnaeus, 1758 Cicindela sylvicola Dejean, 1822 Cicindela talychensis Chaudoir, 1846 Cicindela tenuicincta Schaupp, 1884 Cicindela theatina Rotger, 1944 Cicindela tranquebarica Herbst, 1806 Cicindela transbaicalica Motschulsky, 1844 Cicindela transversalis Dejean, 1822 Cicindela turkestanica Ballion, 1871 Cicindela waynei Leffler, 2001 Cicindela willistoni LeConte, 1879
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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.
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