Genus
Mesacanthina
1 species
Along forest-edge roads and wet clearings in South America, *Mesacanthina* pursues prey under cover of darkness. This small metallic genus of roughly nine species inhabits bare clay-loam and sandy clay substrates across Bolivia, Brazil, and adjacent Neotropical areas. Its distinctive aedeagal morphology sets it apart within the tribe Odontocheilina.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Mesacanthina* Rivalier, 1969. Body 7–13 mm, depressed, metallic. Fully winged; nocturnal. Labrum subquadrate, sexually dimorphic. Mandibles and palps elongate (J01=2). Single prominent medial labral tooth. Separated from all other Odontocheilina genera by aedeagal morphology. No confusion genera recorded.
Etymology
From Greek *mésos* (middle) + *ákantha* (thorn) + -ina (feminine) — referring to middle-thorned characters.
Species (1)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
Along forest-edge roads and wet clearings in South America, *Mesacanthina* pursues prey under cover of darkness. This small metallic genus of roughly nine species inhabits bare clay-loam and sandy clay substrates across Bolivia, Brazil, and adjacent Neotropical areas. Its distinctive aedeagal morphology sets it apart within the tribe Odontocheilina.
Type species: Pentacomia (Mesacanthina) cribrata Bates, 1869 [by original designation (Moravec & Huber 2015)]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist 2. Sumlin, W.D. (1983) — original genus description 3. Moravec, J. (2020) — Cicindelini Vol. 2 4. 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] 5. Moravec, J. & Huber, R.L. (2015) — Taxonomic revision—13. Mesacanthina stat. nov. Acta Musei Moraviae, Scientiae biologicae 100(1): 117-138. [genus erected from Pentacomia subgenus] 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. 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]
Living Book · World Monograph 2026
Genera and Subgenera of Tiger Beetles
240 genera · 3,715 taxa · 194-character matrix · 12 months free updates