Genus
Prothymidia
9 species
*Prothymidia* Rivalier, 1957 is a small Afrotropical genus of tiger beetles comprising approximately seven species distributed across sub-Saharan Africa. These metallic-coloured beetles inhabit open, wet environments, favoring compacted laterite, clay-pan, and sandy substrates in the Sudano-Sahelian and Sudanian savanna zones. Unlike many of their diurnal relatives, *Prothymidia* species are nocturnal hunters. The genus name reflects its diminutive affinity with *Prothyma*, echoing the smaller stature of these savanna beetles.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Prothymidia* Rivalier, 1957. Body 10–16 mm, oval (L:W <2.0), fully winged. Coloration metallic. Eyes large, protuberant. Labrum transverse. Pronotum subquadrate. Elytra with metallic ground color; maculation present. Nocturnal activity. Habitat: open wet ground on compacted laterite, clay-pan, or sandy substrate, sub-Saharan Africa. Subtribe Cicindelina; distinguishable from related genera by combination of oval habitus, small-medium size, nocturnal habit, and Afrotropical distribution. No confusion genera recorded.
Etymology
Diminutive of Prothyma.
Species (9)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
*Prothymidia* Rivalier, 1957 is a small Afrotropical genus of tiger beetles comprising approximately seven species distributed across sub-Saharan Africa. These metallic-coloured beetles inhabit open, wet environments, favoring compacted laterite, clay-pan, and sandy substrates in the Sudano-Sahelian and Sudanian savanna zones. Unlike many of their diurnal relatives, *Prothymidia* species are nocturnal hunters. The genus name reflects its diminutive affinity with *Prothyma*, echoing the smaller stature of these savanna beetles.
Type species: Prothymidia simoni Werner, 2000 [by monotypy]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist authority 2. Rivalier, E. (1957) — original genus description 3. Werner, K. (2000) — Tiger Beetles of Africa, Vol. 2 — generic context 4. Cassola, F. (various papers) — regional faunistic records 5. 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] 6. Serrano, A.R.M. & Capela, R.A. (2013) — The tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Cicindelinae) of Angola: a descriptive catalogue and designation of neotypes. Zootaxa 3731(4): 401-444. 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] +5 citations · full list in paid edition
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Genera and Subgenera of Tiger Beetles
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