Genus
Grandopronotalia
1 species
*Grandopronotalia* is a monotypic Australian tiger beetle genus, immediately recognisable by its disproportionately enlarged pronotum — the feature enshrined in its name. The single species inhabits bare sandy or clay substrates during the austral wet season. A strictly Australian endemic, it remains one of the most morphologically distinctive members of the subtribe Cicindelina.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Grandopronotalia* W. Horn, 1936. Body 10–14 mm, metallic, cylindrical (L:W 2–3), fully winged. Pronotum disproportionately enlarged (G01=2), eponymous autapomorphy; head narrower than pronotum (A05=0). Labrum transverse. Aedeagus diagnostic. Separated from related Cicindelina by uniquely enlarged pronotum combined with aedeagal structure. Monotypic; Australia only.
Etymology
From Latin *grandis* (large) + *pronotum* + -alia — "large-pronotum-bearing".
Species (1)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
*Grandopronotalia* is a monotypic Australian tiger beetle genus, immediately recognisable by its disproportionately enlarged pronotum — the feature enshrined in its name. The single species inhabits bare sandy or clay substrates during the austral wet season. A strictly Australian endemic, it remains one of the most morphologically distinctive members of the subtribe Cicindelina.
Type species: Grandopronotalia gigas Werner, 2000 [by monotypy]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist 2. Cassola, F. (1979) — 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. 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] 5. 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] 6. 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] 7. 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] 8. Freitag (1979) — Australian Journal of Zoology N°66 (p.1-99) 1979; Reclassification, Phylogeny and Zoo. of the Austra 9. St. on australian T.B. Part 1: Cic.(Grandopronotalia) carnar (2013) — Calodema, 242 (p.1-11) 2013; St. on australian T.B. Part 1: Cic.(Grandopronotalia) carnarvona, Peter
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Genera and Subgenera of Tiger Beetles
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