Alpine Rock-Cress vs Cobblestone Tiger Beetle

Arabis alpina compared with Cicindela marginipennis

Key Differences

• Alpine Rock-Cress is Least Concern while Cobblestone Tiger Beetle is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alpine Rock-Cress	Cobblestone Tiger Beetle
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Brassicales (Brassicales)	Coleoptera (Beetles)
Family	Brassicaceae	Carabidae
Genus	Arabis	Cicindela
Species	Arabis alpina	Cicindela marginipennis

Conservation Status

Alpine Rock-Cress

LC — Least Concern

Cobblestone Tiger Beetle

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Alpine Rock-Cress	Cobblestone Tiger Beetle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alpine Rock-Cress

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (10 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and South America (Argentina).

Cobblestone Tiger Beetle

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Canada and United States. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Alpine Rock-Cress

The Alpine Rock-Cress (Arabis alpina) is a species in the genus Arabis. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions. Widely distributed across Europe (10 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and South America (Argentina).

Cobblestone Tiger Beetle

Cobblestone tiger beetle (Cicindela marginipennis) is a medium-sized ground beetle in the family Carabidae (tribe Cicindelini), native to riverbars and cobblestone beaches of major river systems in eastern North America, from Quebec and Ontario south through the Ohio and Mississippi river basins. It is a habitat specialist restricted to dynamic, open gravel and cobble bars on large rivers, where bare, sun-warmed substrate provides ideal conditions for hunting small invertebrate prey. Like all tiger beetles, it is a fast-running, visually acute predator that captures prey by rapid pursuit. Adults are active on sunny days from late spring through summer, capable of short bursts of flight. Cobblestone tiger beetle is assessed as Vulnerable by the IUCN due to severe declines caused by the loss of dynamic river cobblestone habitat through dam construction, channelisation, bank stabilisation, and loss of natural flood regimes that maintain bare substrate. Populations have disappeared from many historically occupied rivers. Conservation efforts focus on preserving and restoring natural river dynamics on rivers where the species persists.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇨🇦 Canada 🇺🇸 United States