Cicindelinae of Sri Lanka: New record of the arboreal tiger beetle Tricondyla gounellei Horn, 1900

Abstract

Information is provided on the newly recorded Tricondyla gounellei Horn, 1900, an arboreal tiger beetle, hitherto known only from Southern India, with this being its fi rst from Sri Lanka. Following fi eld surveys conducted from 2017 to 2019 in forty-one locations in the country, this species was recorded from two locations namely, Vellankulam in Mannar District and Kirinda in Hambantota District. Tricondyla gounellei, closely resembles Tricondyla granulifera Motschulsky, 1857 previously recorded from Sri Lanka. However, T. gounellei can be distinguished from T. granulifera by the smaller body size, short elytra that are narrower in the middle and palpi with black terminal joints which in T. granulifera is red.