Tiger beetle

Tiger beetle; Temporal range:
	Lophyra sp. in Tanzania
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Adephaga
Superfamily:	Caraboidea
Family:	; Latreille, 1802
Tribes
	Cicindelini; Collyridini; Manticorini (including Amblycheila); Megacephalini; Oxycheilini; Ctenostomatini;
Synonyms
	Cicindelinae Latreille, 1802;

Tiger beetles or the Cicindelidae are a family of beetles known for their aggressive predatory habits and running speed. The fastest known species of tiger beetle, Rivacindela hudsoni, can run at a speed of 9 km/h (5.6 mph; 2.5 m/s), or about 125 body lengths per second.^[2] As of 2005, about 2,600 species and subspecies were known, with the richest diversity in the Oriental (Indo-Malayan) region, followed by the Neotropics.^[3] While historically treated as a subfamily of ground beetles (Carabidae) under the name Cicindelinae, several studies since 2020 indicated that they should be treated as a family, the Cicindelidae, a sister group to Carabidae, within the Adephaga.^[4]

^ Cite error: The named reference tribes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Friedlander, Blaine (1998-01-16). "When tiger beetles chase prey at high speeds they go blind temporarily, Cornell entomologists learn". Cornell Chronicle. Cornell University. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
^ Pearson & Cassola 2005
^ Vasilikopoulos, Alexandros; Balke, Michael; Kukowka, Sandra; Pflug, James M.; Martin, Sebastian; Meusemann, Karen; Hendrich, Lars; Mayer, Christoph; Maddison, David R.; Niehuis, Oliver; Beutel, Rolf G.; Misof, Bernhard (October 2021). "Phylogenomic analyses clarify the pattern of evolution of Adephaga (Coleoptera) and highlight phylogenetic artefacts due to model misspecification and excessive data trimming". Systematic Entomology. 46 (4): 991–1018. Bibcode:2021SysEn..46..991V. doi:10.1111/syen.12508. hdl:2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/354578. ISSN 0307-6970.

[tribes-1] Cite error: The named reference tribes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[cornell-2] Friedlander, Blaine (1998-01-16). "When tiger beetles chase prey at high speeds they go blind temporarily, Cornell entomologists learn". Cornell Chronicle. Cornell University. Retrieved 2025-07-12.

[3] Pearson & Cassola 2005

[:0-4] Vasilikopoulos, Alexandros; Balke, Michael; Kukowka, Sandra; Pflug, James M.; Martin, Sebastian; Meusemann, Karen; Hendrich, Lars; Mayer, Christoph; Maddison, David R.; Niehuis, Oliver; Beutel, Rolf G.; Misof, Bernhard (October 2021). "Phylogenomic analyses clarify the pattern of evolution of Adephaga (Coleoptera) and highlight phylogenetic artefacts due to model misspecification and excessive data trimming". Systematic Entomology. 46 (4): 991–1018. Bibcode:2021SysEn..46..991V. doi:10.1111/syen.12508. hdl:2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/354578. ISSN 0307-6970.

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