''Balgus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

click beetle Elateridae or click beetles (or "typical click beetles" to distinguish them from the related families Cerophytidae and Eucnemidae, which are also capable of clicking) are a family of beetles. Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, ...

(family

Elateridae Elateridae or click beetles (or "typical click beetles" to distinguish them from the related families Cerophytidae and Eucnemidae, which are also capable of clicking) are a family of beetles. Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, sp ...

). They are one of several genera in the family which contain at least one

bioluminescent Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some b ...

species. The genus was originally placed in the family

Eucnemidae Eucnemidae, or false click beetles, are a family of elateroid beetles including about 1700 species distributed worldwide. Description Closely related to the family Elateridae, specimens of Eucnemidae can reach a length of . Bodies are slight ...

, later transferred to

Throscidae Throscidae is a family of elateroid beetles found worldwide (except New Zealand) with around 150 species in 5 extant genera. The larvae are soil-dwelling, siphoning fluid from mycorrhizae attached to trees. The adults are short-lived, with the a ...

, but recent classifications establish them firmly within Elateridae.Barbosa, F.F. (2016) Revision and phylogeny of the genus ''Balgus'' Fleutiaux, 1920 (Coleoptera, Elateridae, Thylacosterninae). Zootaxa 4083(4): 451–482. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4083.4.1

List of species

* '' Balgus albofasciatus'' (Bonvouloir, 1875) * '' Balgus egaensis'' (Bonvouloir, 1875) "eganensis"/small> * '' Balgus eschscholtzi'' (Laporte, 1835) * '' Balgus humilis'' (Bonvouloir, 1875) * '' Balgus obconicus'' (Bonvouloir, 1875) * '' Balgus rugosus'' (Blanchard, 1843) * '' Balgus schnusei'' (Heller, 1914) * '' Balgus subfasciatus'' (Bonvouloir, 1875) * '' Balgus tuberculosus'' (Dalman, 1823)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2219993 Elateridae genera Bioluminescent insects