Photinus (beetle)
| Photinus | |
|---|---|
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| Eastern Firefly, Photinus pyralis | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Lampyridae |
| Subfamily: | Lampyrinae |
| Tribe: | Photinini |
| Genus: | Photinus Laporte , 1833
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| Species | |
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Numerous, see text | |
The rover fireflies (Photinus) are a
common eastern firefly
(P. pyralis), the most common species of firefly in North America.
Male Photinus beetles emit a flashing
Photuris beetles, identify these signals and use them to locate the male Photinus, attract them with deceptive signals, and eat them. An important study on the diversity of species in the USA and their visual communication was by Lloyd (1966) [1]
Systematics
The closest living relative of the rover fireflies is not yet determined with certainty. In
predators, the Photurinae, but they are quite certainly not at all closely related as fireflies go. Rather, the genus Ellychnia is either the closest relative of Photinus, or might even be included in it. Ellychnia are notable for having lost the ability to produce light again, and like the ancestors of all fireflies, communicate with pheromones only. It might thus be warranted to remove some species from Photinus and assign them different genera.[2]
The genus Tropical species of Photinus are also not well studied.[2]
Selected species
- Photinus australis Green, 1956[3]
- Photinus carolinus Green, 1956[3] [noted for synchronous flashing]
- Photinus concisus Lloyd, 1968
- Photinus consanguineus LeConte, 1852[4]
- Photinus consimilis Green, 1956[3]
- Photinus floridanus Fall, 1927
- Photinus fuscus Germar, 1824
- Photinus harveyi John B. Buck, 1947[5]
- Photinus indictus LeConte, 1881
- Photinus macdermotti Lloyd, 1966
- Photinus pallens Fabricius, 1798[6] – Jamaican Firefly
- Photinus punctulatus LeConte, 1852
- Common eastern firefly, big dipper firefly)
- Photinus tanytoxis Lloyd, 1966
See also
References
- ^ Lloyd, J.E. (1966). "Studies on the Flash Communication System in Photinus Fireflies". Miscellaneous Publications (University of Michigan. Museum of Zoology) (130): 1–95.
- ^ a b Stanger-Hall et al. (2007)
- ^ ISSN 0068-547X.
- ^ "Photinus consanguineus Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- ^ "Photinus harveyi Buck, 1947". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2014-12-03.
- ^ Originally described as Lampyris pullens, a nomen oblitum
Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Photinus.
- Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F.; Lloyd, James E.; Hillis, David M. (2007). "Phylogeny of North American fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae): Implications for the evolution of light signals". PMID 17644427.