Genus
Calyptoglossa
1 species
*Calyptoglossa* Jeannel, 1946 is a poorly known Afrotropical genus of tiger beetles numbering around three species, endemic to Madagascar and the broader Afrotropical region. Adults are metallic, broadly oval beetles associated with open laterite clearings and forest habitats. Their larvae develop within bark burrows, a striking departure from the bare-soil burrowing typical of most cicindelids.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Calyptoglossa* Jeannel, 1946. Body 10–16 mm, metallic, oval (L:W 2–3); fully winged. Labrum transverse, 4-setose. Body largely glabrous, coxae setose. Elytra broadly shaped, lacking setal vesture and large iridescent longitudinal foveae present in *Chaetotaxis macropus*. Larval habit arboreal (bark burrows). No confusion genera recorded.
Etymology
From Greek *kalyptós* (covered) + *glōssa* (tongue) — "covered-tongued".
Species (1)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
*Calyptoglossa* Jeannel, 1946 is a poorly known Afrotropical genus of tiger beetles numbering around three species, endemic to Madagascar and the broader Afrotropical region. Adults are metallic, broadly oval beetles associated with open laterite clearings and forest habitats. Their larvae develop within bark burrows, a striking departure from the bare-soil burrowing typical of most cicindelids.
Type species: Cicindela frontalis Audouin et Brullé, 1839 [by original designation]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist 2. Jeannel, R. (1946) — original genus description 3. 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] 4. Werner, K. (1999/2000) — The Tiger Beetles of Africa (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae). Volumes I (1999, 191 pp) and II (2000, 207 pp). Taita Publishers, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. [Color picture-catalogue of 396 species in 34 genera; covers sub-Saharan Africa excluding Madagascar; 779 colour photographs in Vol II alone] 5. 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] 6. 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] 7. 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] 8. Horn, W. (1908, 1910, 1915) — Coleoptera Adephaga, fam. Carabidae, subfam. Cicindelinae. In: Wytsman, P. (Ed.) Genera Insectorum, fascicles 82a, 82b, 82c. L. Desmet-Verteneuil, Bruxelles. BHL bibliography/45481 [foundational historical monograph of Cicindelidae, treating all genera known at the time] 9. Moravec (2010) — Tigers Beetles of the Madagascan region, Vol. III, 2010, Biosphéricka rezervace Dolni Moravia ; Mora +1 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