Species Dromochorus pilatei - Cajun Tiger Beetle

Only fully illustrated account of tiger beetle fauna for any southwestern U. S. state, with conservation status of each New Mexico taxa, large color-coded dot map by county, with over 500 color photos.

Contact C. Barry Knisley (bknisley@rmc.edu)

Abstract: The higher-level taxonomy of tiger beetles is re-evaluated in light of recent publications based on large taxon sets and a large number of genetic loci. These studies have demonstrated that tiger beetles are a distinct family, Cicindelidae Latreille, sister to the Carabidae Latreille (ground beetles) or Trachypachidae Thomson (false ground beetles) + Carabidae. Recent phylogenies have also recovered consistent patterns in higher-level relationships within the tiger beetles that challenge the traditional taxonomic framework, most of which is more than a century old. These phylogenetic results are reviewed along with concordant morphological characters to create an updated higher-level classification. The subfamily Collyrinae Csiki is not supported by any modern data. We recognize six tribes, Manticorini Laporte (new sense), Megacephalini Laporte (new sense), Collyridini Brullé, Ctenostomatini Laporte, Cicindelini Latreille and the reinstated Oxycheilini Chaudoir (with emended spelling).

This richly illustrated identification guide to all 21 species also treats much of their biology and collection methods. Additional information about the book, author, and ordering are available here.

BioOne

Jackson, M. 2017. Book Review: A Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada: Identification, Natural History, and Distribution of the Cicindelinae (Second Edition). The Coleopterists Bulletin 71(3): 530-531.

"Unfortunately, I have also found that some of the new additions feel unnecessary, and to make matters worse, that the authors have chosen a new and unsupported taxonomy that threatens to invalidate this second edition before it leaves the shelf."