Genus
Brasiella
65 species
*Brasiella* Rivalier, 1954 is a Neotropical genus of tiger beetles ranging across South America, inhabiting open, wet habitats on bare or sandy substrates. These small to medium beetles — as compact as 6 mm — are nocturnal hunters whose larvae develop in vertical burrows sunk into sand.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Brasiella* Rivalier, 1954. Body 6–13 mm, elongate-oval; fully winged; nocturnal; sandy substrate. Separated from *Cicindela* s.str. and *Cicindelidia* by aedeagal morphology [Rivalier, 1954].
Etymology
Named after Brazil (geographic origin of multiple species); diminutive feminine ending.
Species (65)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
*Brasiella* Rivalier, 1954 is a Neotropical genus of tiger beetles ranging across South America, inhabiting open, wet habitats on bare or sandy substrates. These small to medium beetles — as compact as 6 mm — are nocturnal hunters whose larvae develop in vertical burrows sunk into sand.
Type species: Cicindela argentata Fabricius, 1801 [by original designation (Rivalier 1954)]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist 2. Rivalier, E. (1954) — original genus description 3. Moravec, J. (2020) — Cicindelini Vol. 2 4. Pearson, D.L. & Vogler, A.P. (2001) — Tiger Beetles: The Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity of the Cicindelids. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, 333 pp. [ISBN 0-8014-3882-9] 5. Knisley, C.B., Kippenhan, M.G. & Brzoska, D. (2014) — Conservation status of United States tiger beetles. Terrestrial Arthropod Reviews 7(2-4): 93-145. 6. Bousquet, Y. (2012) — Catalogue of Geadephaga (Coleoptera, Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico. ZooKeys 245: 1-1722. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.245.3416 [comprehensive Nearctic catalogue including Cicindelidae] 7. Duran, D.P. & Gough, H.M. (2020) — Validation of tiger beetles as distinct family (Cicindelidae) and reclassification within Coleoptera. Systematic Entomology 45(4): 723-729. DOI: 10.1111/syen.12440 [validates Cicindelidae as separate family] 8. Gough, H.M., Duran, D.P., Kawahara, A.Y. & Toussaint, E.F.A. (2018) — A comprehensive molecular phylogeny of tiger beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Cicindelinae). Systematic Entomology 43(3): 567-586. DOI: 10.1111/syen.12324 [ML phylogeny of 328 taxa, 9 gene regions] 9. Wiesner, J. (2020) — Checklist of the Tiger Beetles of the World, 2nd edition (Verzeichnis der Sandlaufkäfer der Welt, 27. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Cicindelidae). Winterwork, Borsdorf, 534 pp. [Authoritative current world checklist] +11 citations · full list in paid edition
Living Book · World Monograph 2026
Genera and Subgenera of Tiger Beetles
240 genera · 3,715 taxa · 194-character matrix · 12 months free updates