Genus
Mantica
1 species
*Mantica* is a monotypic Namibian genus of the tribe Manticorini, patrolling open arid ground after dark. Its single species, a compact matte-bodied beetle 26–32 mm long, haunts compacted sandy and gravelly soils of the Hardap region. Larvae develop in vertical burrows dug into the baked earth below.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Mantica* Kolbe, 1896. Monotypic. Body 26–32 mm, oval, matte, fully winged. Head broad; labrum transverse; eyes medium. Pronotum globose, deeply transversely impressed. Aedeagus diagnostic. Nocturnal; sandy/gravelly arid substrate. Separated from *Manticora* by smaller size; from *Platychile* by aedeagal morphology and Namibian distribution.
Etymology
From Latin *mantica* (small bag, knapsack) — referring to specific body shape; alternative: from Manticora root.
Species (1)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
*Mantica* is a monotypic Namibian genus of the tribe Manticorini, patrolling open arid ground after dark. Its single species, a compact matte-bodied beetle 26–32 mm long, haunts compacted sandy and gravelly soils of the Hardap region. Larvae develop in vertical burrows dug into the baked earth below.
Type species: Mantica horni Kolbe, 1896 [by monotypy]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist 2. Kolbe, H.J. (1896) — original genus description 3. Cassola, F. (1981–2008) — Various papers on African and Oriental Cicindelidae; cytotaxonomic and revisionary studies (multiple periodicals). 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. Various pre-1900 authors — Mannerheim (1837 Bull. Soc. Moscou), Gistel (1848-1857 Naturgeschichte / Vacuna), Hewitson (1862), Kolbe (1896 Stett. Ent. Z.), Fauvel (1882), Heller (1916 Stett. Ent. Z.). Most BHL-accessible. 9. Cassola, F. (1971-2010) — Studies on Tiger Beetles (Coleoptera, Cicindelidae) — numbered series of papers (over 120 contributions) published primarily in Bollettino della Società Entomologica Italiana, Fragmenta Entomologica, Lambillionea, Coleopterists Bulletin, Quaderni del Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Biota Colombiana. Provides taxonomic descriptions, regional faunal lists, and cytotaxonomic studies covering Afrotropical, Oriental, and Neotropical regions. +4 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