The tribe Cicindini Bänninger (Coleoptera: Carabidae): comparative morphology, classification, natural history, and evolution

The two species of the Gondwanian carabid beetle tribe, Cicindini, are re- described in detail and their relationships within the Carabidae and among themselves are reassessed. On the basis of several autapotypic features, a new genus, Archaeocindis, is erected for the Persian Gulf species, Cicindis johnbeckeri Banninger. The type locality for Cicindis horni Bruch is restricted to Guanaco Muerto, Cordoba Province, Argentina. For each taxon, a synthesis of available literature on both taxonomy and natural history is presented. The name of the tribe is determined to be Cicindini, not Cicindisini, according to the rules of zoological nomenclature. Based on a detaifed analysis of characters of external structure and genitalia and consideration of past and present classifications of carabidae, cicindines are placed in a separate supertribe, the Cicinditae, near the Nebriitae and Elaphritae (sensu Kryzhanovskiy 1 9 7 6). Present geographical. distributions of the tribe and genera suggest that cicindines are a western Gondwanian lineage, the distribution of which was divided by development of the South Atlantic Basin in the Late Mesozoic. Resulting South American and African isolates gave rise to Cicindis and Archaeocindis, respectively. Members of the former taxon occupy interior saline lake shore habitats, those of the latter occur in tidal flats of bays in the Persian Gulf. Based on interpretation of a suite of unusual structural features, cicindines probably behave like diurnal tiger beetles that also can survive submersion in and swim on the surface of salt water.