Genus
Pometon
2 species
*Pometon* Fleutiaux, 1899 is one of the rarest tiger beetle genera in the world, comprising just two species confined to South America. These small, metallic beetles inhabit compacted laterite and dry clay substrates, where their flattened bodies suit life on hard, open ground. Counted among the least-collected Cicindelidae, *Pometon* remains poorly known despite decades of fieldwork across the Neotropical region.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Pometon* Fleutiaux, 1899 Body small, 9–13 mm, strongly depressed (L:W ratio 2–3). Coloration metallic. Eyes medium. Labrum transverse. Wings fully developed. Substrate association with compacted laterite, clay pan, and dry clay diagnostic within Prothymina. Nocturnal activity. Two species known. No confusion genera recorded within current generic limits.
Etymology
From Greek *pómētos*/*pómatos* — etymology unclear; possibly coined.
Species (2)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
*Pometon* Fleutiaux, 1899 is one of the rarest tiger beetle genera in the world, comprising just two species confined to South America. These small, metallic beetles inhabit compacted laterite and dry clay substrates, where their flattened bodies suit life on hard, open ground. Counted among the least-collected Cicindelidae, *Pometon* remains poorly known despite decades of fieldwork across the Neotropical region.
Type species: Pometon viridis Gistel, 1857 [by monotypy]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist authority 2. Gistel, J.N.F.X. (1857) — original genus description 3. Werner, K. (2000) — Tiger Beetles of Africa, 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. 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. 6. Arndt, E. & Putchkov, A.V. (1997) — Phylogenetic investigation of Cicindelidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) using larval morphological characters. Zoologischer Anzeiger 235: 231-241. 7. 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 8. 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] 9. 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 citations · full list in paid edition
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Genera and Subgenera of Tiger Beetles
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