Genus
Derocrania
16 species
Hidden in the bark of Oriental forest trees after dark, *Derocrania* is among the most unusual tiger beetles of Asia — a nocturnal hunter whose larvae burrow within bark rather than soil. Its slender, cylindrical body and elongated head betray its membership in the ant-mimicking Collyridini, a tribe of extraordinary form. The subgenus *Neoderocrania*, separated from *Derocrania* s.str. by details of vertex and occiput shape, encompasses roughly eleven species distributed across the Oriental region.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Derocrania* (Neoderocrania) Naviaux, 2002. Body medium, ~19 mm, elongate-cylindrical (L:W >3.0), dark, matte. Head elongate, longer than wide; eyes large, laterally directed. Pronotum elongate, strongly constricted at base, neck-like (synapomorphy of Tricondylina). Elytra elongate; wings fully developed. Nocturnal; arboreal — adults on bark and branches of Oriental forest trees; larvae in bark burrows. Subgenus separated from *Derocrania* s.str. by configuration of vertex and occiput (Naviaux, 2002). Oriental distribution.
Etymology
From Greek *dérē* (neck) + *kranion* (cranium, skull) — "neck-cranium" referring to head/neck proportions.
Species (16)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
Hidden in the bark of Oriental forest trees after dark, *Derocrania* is among the most unusual tiger beetles of Asia — a nocturnal hunter whose larvae burrow within bark rather than soil. Its slender, cylindrical body and elongated head betray its membership in the ant-mimicking Collyridini, a tribe of extraordinary form. The subgenus *Neoderocrania*, separated from *Derocrania* s.str. by details of vertex and occiput shape, encompasses roughly eleven species distributed across the Oriental region.
Type species: Tricondyla scitiscabra Walker, 1858 [by subsequent designation (Chaudoir 1860)]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist authority 2. Chaudoir, M. de (1860) — original genus description 3. Pearson, D.L., Wiesner, J., Uniyal, V.P., Acciavatti, R.E. & Anichtchenko, A. (2020) — Field Guide India — current treatment 4. Naviaux, R. (multiple papers) — Tricondylina revisions 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. Chaudoir, M. de — Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou (multiple volumes 1843-1865). BHL bibliography/4951 [open access] 9. 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 citations · full list in paid edition
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Genera and Subgenera of Tiger Beetles
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