Cobblestone Tiger Beetle vs Wald-Sandlaufkäfer

Cicindela marginipennis compared with Cicindela sylvatica

Key Differences

• Cobblestone Tiger Beetle is Vulnerable while Wald-Sandlaufkäfer is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cobblestone Tiger Beetle	Wald-Sandlaufkäfer
Kingdom same	Animalia (Tier)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Gliederfüßer)	Arthropoda (Gliederfüßer)
Class same	Insecta (Insekten)	Insecta (Insekten)
Order same	Coleoptera (Käfer)	Coleoptera (Käfer)
Family same	Carabidae	Carabidae
Genus same	Cicindela	Cicindela
Species	Cicindela marginipennis	Cicindela sylvatica

Evolutionary Relationship

Cobblestone Tiger Beetle and Wald-Sandlaufkäfer share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Cicindela.

Conservation Status

Cobblestone Tiger Beetle

VU — Vulnerable

Wald-Sandlaufkäfer

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cobblestone Tiger Beetle	Wald-Sandlaufkäfer
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.

Wald-Sandlaufkäfer

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.