Goniotropis kuntzeni

Adults can be distinguished from other ground beetles by their large, parallel-sided body and placement in the tribe Ozaenini. Larvae are identifiable by their unique terminal disk structure used to seal burrows. A key to genera of Paussinae larvae is available in Moore & DiGiulio (2005).

Adults occur on trees at night. Larvae construct burrows in soil or substrate, which they seal using their terminal disk.

Recorded from Mexico, the United States (southern Arizona), and Venezuela. Ranges across Central America and North America, with the broader genus distribution extending from southern Arizona to northern Argentina.

Larvae are predatory on live insects. Adult diet is not documented.

Includes egg, first instar larva, and second instar larva. Larval development has been observed in laboratory conditions.

Adults are nocturnal and arboreal. Larvae are fossorial predators that construct and seal burrows with their terminal disk. They capture prey by trapping live insects using the moveable components of the terminal disk, then drag prey into the burrow gallery for consumption. This burrowing and feeding behavior closely resembles that of Pachyteles species.

• Pachyteles speciesLarval burrowing and feeding behaviors closely resemble those of Goniotropis kuntzeni, including use of a terminal disk for prey capture.
• Other Paussinae larvaeCan be distinguished using the larval key provided in Moore & DiGiulio (2005), which separates genera based on morphological characters including the terminal disk structure.

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• Description and behaviour of Goniotropis kuntzeni larvae (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Paussinae: Ozaenini) and a key to genera of Paussinae larvae