Genus
Notospira
1 species
*Notospira* Rivalier, 1961 is a small Afrotropical tiger beetle genus of three species inhabiting sub-Saharan forest floors. These metallic, cylindrical beetles frequent compacted laterite, clay-pan, and sandy substrates beneath forest canopy. The genus name evokes a distinctive dorsal coiled marking pattern, from the Greek *nōtos* and *speira*.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Notospira* Rivalier, 1961. Body 8–12 mm, cylindrical, metallic; L:W ratio 2–3. Eyes large; labrum subquadrate. Mandibular diastema present (autapomorphy E05). Fully winged. Substrate: compacted laterite, clay-pan, or sandy forest floor (sub-Saharan Africa). Separated from sympatric Cicindelina by aedeagal morphology. No confusion genera recognised.
Etymology
From Greek *nōtos* (back) + *speira* (coil, spiral) — referring to dorsal coiled marking pattern.
Species (1)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
*Notospira* Rivalier, 1961 is a small Afrotropical tiger beetle genus of three species inhabiting sub-Saharan forest floors. These metallic, cylindrical beetles frequent compacted laterite, clay-pan, and sandy substrates beneath forest canopy. The genus name evokes a distinctive dorsal coiled marking pattern, from the Greek *nōtos* and *speira*.
Type species: Cicindela diphyas Pascoe, 1875 [by original designation (Rivalier 1961)]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist 2. Horn, W. (1900) — 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. Rivalier, É. (1961) — Démembrement du genre Cicindela L. (suite). IV. Faune indomalaise. Revue Française d'Entomologie 28(2): 121-149. [Part IV — Indo-Malay fauna; Cosmodela, Notospira, Polyrhanis and others] 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]
Living Book · World Monograph 2026
Genera and Subgenera of Tiger Beetles
240 genera · 3,715 taxa · 194-character matrix · 12 months free updates