Vata

Overview

*Vata* Fauvel, 1881 is a small genus of two tiger beetle species found exclusively in New Caledonia, one of the most isolated archipelagos in the Pacific. These metallic, nocturnal beetles inhabit forest floors, running across bare sandy or clay substrates in search of prey. Their confinement to a single remote landmass makes *Vata* a striking example of island endemism among the Cicindelidae.

Type species: Vata madagascariensis Fauvel, 1882 [by monotypy]

1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist authority 2. Fauvel, A. (1882) — original genus description 3. Pearson, D.L. & Vogler, A.P. (2001) — Pacific context 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] +4 citations · full list in paid edition