Genus
Peridexia
7 species
*Peridexia* Chaudoir, 1860 is a small, poorly known genus of tiger beetles restricted to the Oriental region, where adults inhabit tree trunks and bark surfaces in forest environments. These medium-sized beetles, reaching around 12 mm in length, are nocturnal in habit, sheltering by day beneath bark and emerging after dark. Larvae are believed to develop within burrows excavated in bark, an unusual life-history strategy among Cicindelidae. With only 2–4 described species, *Peridexia* remains one of the least-studied arboreal genera in the tribe Cicindelini.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Peridexia* Chaudoir, 1860. Body 9–14 mm, cylindrical. Coloration metallic; elytra yellow to reddish-orange with large central and usually basal black maculae; head and pronotum black. Pronotal surface nearly smooth. Labrum transverse, 4-setose. Head, all thoracic regions, and abdominal ventrites glabrous (ventrites with sparse sensory setae only). Aedeagus robust. Fully winged. Arboreal habit on tree trunks in Oriental forest; nocturnal. Larvae in bark burrows. No confusion genera recorded for this genus.
Etymology
From Greek *perí* (around) + *dexiá* (right hand, skill) — "skilled all around"; coined name.
Species (7)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
*Peridexia* Chaudoir, 1860 is a small, poorly known genus of tiger beetles restricted to the Oriental region, where adults inhabit tree trunks and bark surfaces in forest environments. These medium-sized beetles, reaching around 12 mm in length, are nocturnal in habit, sheltering by day beneath bark and emerging after dark. Larvae are believed to develop within burrows excavated in bark, an unusual life-history strategy among Cicindelidae. With only 2–4 described species, *Peridexia* remains one of the least-studied arboreal genera in the tribe Cicindelini.
Type species: Cicindela fulvipes Dejean, 1831 [by original designation]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist authority 2. Chaudoir, M. de (1860) — original genus description 3. Cassola, F. (multiple papers) — Madagascan Cicindelidae revisions 4. Knisley, C.B. & Pearson, D.L. (1984) — Biosystematics of larval tiger beetles, Sulphur Springs Valley, Arizona: descriptions of species and a review of larval biology. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 110: 465-551. 5. Arndt, E. & Putchkov, A.V. (1997) — Phylogenetic investigation of Cicindelidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) using larval morphological characters. Zoologischer Anzeiger 235: 231-241. 6. Schüle, P., Putchkov, A.V. & Markina, T.Y. (2021) — Dromica larvae: pronotum and hooks as unique characters. ZooKeys 1027: 111-138. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1027.61993 7. 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] 8. 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] 9. 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 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