Mesochila

Overview

*Mesochila* is a small genus of ten metallic tiger beetles inhabiting the forests of the Neotropical region, from Central America south through the Amazon basin. These slender, cylindrical beetles are nocturnal hunters, stalking prey across bare clay-loam and sandy clay substrates on the forest floor. Their metallic coloration — ranging through bronze, green, and brown — provides striking camouflage amid the dappled light of Amazonian forest interiors.

Type species: Odontocheila taeniola Bates, 1864 [by original designation (Moravec 2018)]

1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist authority 2. Sumlin, W.D. (1979) — original genus description 3. Moravec, J. (2020) — Cicindelini Vol. 2 — definitive recent treatment 4. Moravec, J. (2018) — Taxonomic revision—20. Taxonomic changes and revision of Mesochila Rivalier stat. nov. Acta Musei Moraviae, Scientiae biologicae 103(2): 127-206. [definitive recent revision] 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. Moravec, J. (2018) — Taxonomic revision—20. Mesochila Rivalier stat. nov. Acta Musei Moraviae, Scientiae biologicae 103(2): 127-206.

BHL historical illustrations →