Tiger beetle 244665 224700931 2008-07-10T00:59:03Z Dyanega 1357080 dablink {{Taxobox | name = Tiger beetle | image = Cicindela sexguttata.JPG | image_caption = ''Cicindela sexguttata'' | image_width = 250px | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Arthropod]]a | classis = [[Insect]]a | ordo = [[Beetle|Coleoptera]] | subordo = [[Adephaga]] | familia = [[Carabidae]] | subfamilia = '''Cicindelinae''' | subfamilia_authority = [[Pierre André Latreille|Latreille]], 1802 | subdivision_ranks = [[tribe (biology)|Tribes]] | subdivision = [[Cicindelini]]<br/> [[Collyridini]]<br/> [[Ctenostomatini]]<br/> [[Manticorini]]<br/> [[Megacephalini]]<br/> [[Omini]]<br> See text for genera. }} {{commons|Cicindelidae}} {{wikispecies|Cicindelinae}} [[Image:Cicindelid_bangalore.jpg|thumb|250px|''[[Cicindela aurofasciata]]'' from [[India]], showing the large eyes and mandibles]] The '''tiger beetles''' are a large group of [[beetle]]s known for their predatory habits. Some tiger beetles can run at a speed of 5 mph. For its size it has been suggested that they are technically the fastest running land animals<ref>[http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Jan98/TigerBeetle.bpf.html Cornell News, Jan. 16, 1998 When tiger beetles chase prey at high speeds they go blind temporarily, Cornell entomologists learn]</ref>. This has been featured on "Animal Planet's Most Extreme" show as the number one fastest animal known to man on earth. Taxonomically, the beetles were traditionally classified as the family '''Cicindelidae''' but most authorities now treat them as the subfamily '''Cicindelinae''' of the [[Carabidae]] ([[ground beetle]]s). The most recent classifications, however, have relegated them to a subgroup within the subfamily [[Carabinae]], though this is not yet universally accepted; accordingly, there is no consensus classification for this group, at any level from family down to subspecies, and it can be exceedingly difficult to decipher the taxonomic literature surrounding this group. There are about 2,100 species known, with numbers ranging much higher or lower depending on the authority consulted.Very many were described by the German entomologist [[Walther Hermann Richard Horn|Richard Horn]]. Tiger beetles often have large bulging eyes, long, slender legs and large curved [[mandibles]]. All are predatory, both as adults and as larvae. The genus ''[[Cicindela]]'' has a [[cosmopolitan distribution]]. Other well-known genera include ''[[Tetracha]]'', ''[[Omus]]'', ''[[Amblycheila]]'' and ''[[Manticora (genus)|Manticora]]''. While members of the genus ''Cicindela'' are usually [[diurnal animal|diurnal]] and may be out on the hottest days, ''Tetracha'', ''Omus'', ''Amblycheila'' and ''Manticora'' are all [[nocturnal]]. Both ''Cicindela'' and ''Tetracha'' are often brightly colored, while the other genera mentioned are usually uniform black in color. Tiger beetles in the genus ''Manticora'' are the largest in size of the subfamily. These live primarily in the deserts of [[South Africa]].[[Image:Salt Creek Tiger Beetle.jpg|thumb|250px|left|''Cicindela nevadica lincolniana'', the [[Salt Creek Tiger Beetle]]]] [[Image:Lucanidaesp.JPG|thumb|250px|left|''[[Manticora (genus)|Manticora]]'' sp. [[Mozambique]]. Museum specimen.]] The [[larva]]e of tiger beetles live in cylindrical burrows as much as a meter deep. They are large-headed, hump-backed [[grub]]s that flip backwards to capture prey insects that wander over the ground. The fast-moving adults run down their prey. Some tiger beetles in the tropics are arboreal, but most run on the surface of the ground. They live along sea and lake shores, on sand dunes, around playa lakebeds and on clay banks or woodland paths. Tiger beetles have been considered as good [[indicator species]] and have been used in ecological studies on [[biodiversity]]. ==Common [[North America]]n Genera== * ''[[Amblycheila]]'' <small>[[Thomas Say|Say]], 1830</small> * ''[[Cicindela]]'' <small>[[Linnaeus]], 1758</small> * ''[[Tetracha]]'' <small>Hope, 1838</small> * ''[[Omus]]'' <small>[[Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz|Eschscholtz]], 1829</small> ==Bibliography== *''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]]. ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==External Links== *[http://www.cicindelaonline.com/index.htm Cicindela Online] * http://homepage3.nifty.com/trechinae/cicinw.htm (Japanese) *[http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/insects/tigb/usa/cicindel.htm Tiger Beetles of the U.S.A.] *[http://www.papua-insects.nl/insect%20orders/Coleoptera/Cicindelidae/Cicindelidae.htm Tiger Beetles of Papua Indonesia] *[http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/tiger/tbeetle3.htm Tiger beetles of Florida] on the [[UF]] / [[IFAS]] Featured Creatures Web site [[Category:Carabidae]] [[cs:Svižníkovití]] [[de:Sandlaufkäfer]] [[es:Cicindelinae]] [[fr:Cicindelinae]] [[ko:길앞잡이류]] [[it:Cicindelinae]] [[lt:Šokliai]] [[nl:Zandloopkevers]] [[ja:ハンミョウ]] [[no:Sandjegere]] [[pl:Trzyszczowate]] [[pt:Cicindela]] [[th:ด้วงเสือ]] [[uk:Стрибуни]]