Brilliant Green Tiger of the Southern Cone

Explanation: Watch where you walk ... you could be stepping on a tiger!

A tiger beetle, that is.

This week we find ourselves in Parque Nacional Puyehue (national park) in southern Chile ... in what is known as the "Southern Cone" of South America, where the continent pinches down in width. This geography has pertinence to this week's story.

The star of this week is likely a species of Cicindela tiger beetle. Tiger beetles are a large and widespread group of arthropods, and are so-named because adults are predators of other insects.

They are well adapted for this predatory life study. They can run swiftly with their long legs, and see movement keenly with their characteristically bulging eyes.

Tiger beetles are favored by collectors but I have more enjoyed watching them in their native environment.

So what's the story of the "Southern Cone" of South America?

That is where the continent narrows, eventually reaching sub-Antarctic conditions at the Strait of Magellan. It is in the "cone" where many unique and regionally endemic species of plants and animals have evolved, as well as unique human cultures.

Biodiversity is not particularly high in the Southern Cone, likely because much of the land is cold-temperate and harsh, with steep mountains and interior Patagonian Steppe -- not particularly conducive to divergence of life forms such as found further north in the rainforests of Amazonia.

So who is this green tiger of the Southern Cone? I could not identify the species but would bet that it is likely found only in this southern region of evolutionary uniqueness.

And here is the key lesson -- to realize that even tiny life forms underfoot can teach us about broad implications of geography.

EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week