The Philippines are considered to be a biodiversity hotspot, due to the very large number of species found only in the islands. This is particularly true of Insects, where many species are found with very limited distributions, and even groups that are good fliers seldom bridge the gaps between the major islands of the group. Tiger Beetles, Cicindelidae, are a large group of distinctively coloured carnivorous Beetles, considered to be useful environmental indicators. There are about 2840 described globally, of which about 140 come from the Philippines, about 90% of which are endemic (i.e. found nowhere else).
In a paper published in the journal Insecta Mundi on 25 May 2018, Herbert Zettel of the 2nd Zoological Department at the Natural History Museum Vienna, and Jürgen Wiesner of Wolfsburg in Germany, describe a new species of Tiger Beetle from Mindoro Island, the Philippines.
The new species is placed in the geuns Cylindera, and given the specific name mindoroana, in reference to the island where it was discovered. The species is described from one male and four female specimens collected on Mindoro Island and one male collected on Mindanao Island (though Zettel and Wiesner are not confident about the recorded origin of this specimen, and believe the presence of this species on Mindanao needs to be confirmed). These Beetles range from 9.7-11.1 mm in length and are dark-bronze to olive green in colour with a pattern on each elytra (wing-case) comprising of a oblique stripe with a spot on either side.
The new species is placed in the geuns Cylindera, and given the specific name mindoroana, in reference to the island where it was discovered. The species is described from one male and four female specimens collected on Mindoro Island and one male collected on Mindanao Island (though Zettel and Wiesner are not confident about the recorded origin of this specimen, and believe the presence of this species on Mindanao needs to be confirmed). These Beetles range from 9.7-11.1 mm in length and are dark-bronze to olive green in colour with a pattern on each elytra (wing-case) comprising of a oblique stripe with a spot on either side.
Cylindera mindoroana. (1) Male. (2) Female. Zettel & Wiesner (2018).
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