Adults are approximately 12–18 mm long.
Fine-art photographic collection
Thopeutica (Wallacedela) hirofumii
A Sulawesi tiger beetle born from Wallacean isolation and placed in a subgenus created in the same revision that named it.
About this species
Thopeutica (Wallacedela) hirofumii(Cassola, 1991)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Thopeutica hirofumii is a Sulawesi tiger beetle described by Fabio Cassola in 1991. It belongs to Wallacedela, a subgenus erected for an island radiation with distinctive body and genital characters.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Carabidae · Cicindelinae · Thopeutica
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Sulawesi, IndonesiaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Sulawesi, Indonesia
Humid forest paths, banks and open patches within tropical forest.
Day-active visual predator.
Small arthropods.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
Hirofumii and the subgenus Wallacedela entered science together in Cassola’s 1991 Sulawesi revision, so the species was recognised as part of a previously hidden island radiation from the moment it was named.
Sulawesi’s deep geological isolation allowed closely related tiger beetles to diverge on separate peninsulas and mountain systems, making small locality differences potentially represent entire species boundaries.
Its identity depends not only on colour but on the exact shape of the labrum, pronotum, elytral sculpture and male genitalia — a four-part anatomical lock against confusion with neighbouring Thopeutica.
Sources and scientific references
- GBIF — taxon record/search for Thopeutica (Wallacedela) hirofumii
- Catalogue of Life — taxon search for Thopeutica (Wallacedela) hirofumii
- Cassola 1991 — revision of Sulawesi tiger beetles and original descriptions
- Wikispecies — Thopeutica hirofumii authority and placement
- Field Museum paratype record for Thopeutica hirofumii