Genus
Heptodonta
17 species
*Heptodonta* Hope, 1838 is a medium-sized tiger beetle genus of South and Southeast Asia, instantly recognizable by its brilliantly metallic elytra flashing deep blue, green, copper, or violet in open sunlight. With 15 species distributed across India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, *Heptodonta* is among the most visually striking cicindelid genera of the Oriental region. Adults are diurnal hunters of bare sandy, clay-loam, and riverine substrates in open wet habitats.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Heptodonta* Hope, 1838 Body medium, 9–14 mm; elongate-cylindrical. Head wider than pronotum; eyes medium, protuberant. Pronotum subquadrate. Elytra elongate; ground color brilliantly metallic — deep blue, green, copper, or violet — distinctly more colorful than most sympatric cicindelids. Labrum transverse. Fully winged. Diurnal; substrate bare sandy soil, clay-loam, or riverine. No confusion genera formally recorded.
Etymology
From Greek *heptá* (seven) + *odoús/odóntos* (tooth) — referring to seven-toothed mandibles or labrum.
Species (17)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
*Heptodonta* Hope, 1838 is a medium-sized tiger beetle genus of South and Southeast Asia, instantly recognizable by its brilliantly metallic elytra flashing deep blue, green, copper, or violet in open sunlight. With 15 species distributed across India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, *Heptodonta* is among the most visually striking cicindelid genera of the Oriental region. Adults are diurnal hunters of bare sandy, clay-loam, and riverine substrates in open wet habitats.
Type species: Cicindela ferrugata Fabricius, 1801 [by original designation (Hope 1838)]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist authority 2. Hope, F.W. (1838) — original genus description 3. Pearson, D.L., Wiesner, J., Uniyal, V.P., Acciavatti, R.E. & Anichtchenko, A. (2020) — Field Guide India 4. Hope, F.W. (1838) — The coleopterist's manual, part the second. London, H.G. Bohn. [BHL: biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/9229] 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. Naviaux (1991) — Bull. mens. Soc. linn. Lyon, tome 60 (7) (p.209-288) 1991 ; Les Cicindèles de Thailande; Naviaux +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