Cobblestone Tiger Beetle vs Etruscan Shrew

Cicindela marginipennis compared with Suncus etruscus

Key Differences

• Cobblestone Tiger Beetle is Vulnerable while Etruscan Shrew is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cobblestone Tiger Beetle	Etruscan Shrew
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Coleoptera (Beetles)	Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)
Family	Carabidae	Soricidae
Genus	Cicindela	Suncus
Species	Cicindela marginipennis	Suncus etruscus

Evolutionary Relationship

Cobblestone Tiger Beetle and Etruscan Shrew share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Cobblestone Tiger Beetle

VU — Vulnerable

Etruscan Shrew

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cobblestone Tiger Beetle	Etruscan Shrew
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

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.

Etruscan Shrew

Habitat

Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Found across Asia (Cyprus, Yemen) and Europe (6 countries).

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.

Etruscan Shrew

Etruscan Shrew (Suncus etruscus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.