Cobblestone Tiger Beetle vs Forrest's Rock Squirrel

Cicindela marginipennis compared with Sciurotamias forresti

Key Differences

• Cobblestone Tiger Beetle is Vulnerable while Forrest's Rock Squirrel is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cobblestone Tiger Beetle	Forrest's Rock Squirrel
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Coleoptera (Beetles)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Carabidae	Sciuridae (Squirrels)
Genus	Cicindela	Sciurotamias
Species	Cicindela marginipennis	Sciurotamias forresti

Evolutionary Relationship

Cobblestone Tiger Beetle and Forrest's Rock Squirrel share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Cobblestone Tiger Beetle

VU — Vulnerable

Forrest's Rock Squirrel

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cobblestone Tiger Beetle	Forrest's Rock Squirrel
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.

Forrest's Rock Squirrel

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

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.