Genus
Eunota
4 species
*Eunota* Rivalier, 1954 are small, metallic tiger beetles of the saline and tidal shores of the southern United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Nocturnal hunters, they patrol intertidal and supratidal sands, while their larvae develop in moist sand just above the tideline. With at least 13 species ranging from Texas and Florida south to the Greater Antilles, *Eunota* stands as one of the few cicindelid genera truly tied to the rhythm of the tides.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Eunota* Rivalier, 1954 Body small–medium, 10–16 mm; habitus depressed, elongate; L:W ratio 2–3. Head wider than pronotum; eyes large, protuberant. Pronotum subquadrate. Elytra elongate; ground color metallic (pale bronze to coppery or greenish); maculation extensive. Legs long. Wings fully developed. Nocturnal; substrate specialist of intertidal and supratidal sand. Separated from *Habroscelimorpha* and *Cicindela* by combination of depressed habitus, tidal-zone habitat, nocturnal activity, and metallic sandy-substrate coloration.
Etymology
From Greek *eu-* (well, good) + *nōtos* (back) — "well-backed", referring to characteristic dorsal pattern.
Species (4)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
*Eunota* Rivalier, 1954 are small, metallic tiger beetles of the saline and tidal shores of the southern United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Nocturnal hunters, they patrol intertidal and supratidal sands, while their larvae develop in moist sand just above the tideline. With at least 13 species ranging from Texas and Florida south to the Greater Antilles, *Eunota* stands as one of the few cicindelid genera truly tied to the rhythm of the tides.
Type species: Cicindela togata LaFerté-Sénectère, 1841 [by original designation (Rivalier 1954)]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist authority 2. Rivalier, E. (1954) — original genus description 3. Pearson, D.L., Knisley, C.B., Duran, D.P. & Kazilek, C.J. (2015) — Field Guide USA & Canada 4. Knisley, C.B., Kippenhan, M.G. & Brzoska, D. (2014) — Conservation status of United States tiger beetles. Terrestrial Arthropod Reviews 7(2-4): 93-145. 5. 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] 6. 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] 7. 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] 8. 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] 9. Rivalier, É. (1954) — Démembrement du genre Cicindela Linné. II. Faune américaine. Revue Française d'Entomologie 21(4): 249-268. [Part II — American fauna; genera Brasiella, Microthylax, Pachydela, Tribonia and others established] +9 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