The rover fireflies (''Photinus'') are a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

fireflies The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

(

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Lampyridae). They are the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Photinini in

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Lampyrinae. This genus contains, for example, the common eastern firefly (''P. pyralis''), the most common species of firefly in North America. Male ''Photinus'' beetles emit a flashing

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

pattern to signal for females. Illegitimate receivers, such as female ''

Photuris ''Photuris'' is a genus of firefly, fireflies (beetles of the family (biology), family Lampyridae). These are the ''femme fatale'' lightning bugs of North America. This common name refers to a behavior of the adult females of these predatory be ...

'' 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)

Etymology

''Photinus'' is from the Greek word for shining or bright.

Systematics

The closest living relative of the rover fireflies is not yet determined with certainty. In

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

, they resemble their

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

s, the Photurinae, but they are quite certainly not at all closely related as fireflies go. Rather, the genus ''

Ellychnia ''Ellychnia'' is a genus of firefly, fireflies. First defined by Émile Blanchard in 1845, the genus contains 24 species, which are widespread in the United States. Adults are black, with rose-colored marks on the pronotum; sexual dimorphism is ...

'' 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

pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...

s only. It might thus be warranted to remove some species from ''Photinus'' and assign them different genera.Stanger-Hall ''et al.'' (2007) The genus '' Pyropyga'' is also a close relative, though it is certainly not as close as ''Ellychnia''. This group makes up the core of the

Photinini, and in fact it seems warranted to restrict the tribe to these genera, but more research is still needed, in particular with regard to ''Photinus'' and ''Ellychnia'', as the relationship of their

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

(''" Photinus pallens"'' and '' Ellychnia corrusca'') remains completely unknown, with the latter also suspected to be a

cryptic species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

Tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

species of ''Photinus'' are also not well studied.

Selected species

* '' Photinus australis'' Green, 1956 * '' Photinus brimleyi'' Green, 1956 * '' Photinus carolinus'' Green, 1956 oted for synchronous flashing* '' Photinus concisus'' Lloyd, 1968 * '' Photinus consanguineus'' LeConte, 1852 * '' Photinus consimilis'' Green, 1956 * '' Photinus cookii'' Green, 1956 * '' Photinus floridanus'' Fall, 1927 * '' Photinus fuscus'' Germar, 1824 * '' Photinus harveyi'' John B. Buck, 1947 * '' Photinus indictus'' LeConte, 1881 * '' Photinus macdermotti'' Lloyd, 1966 * '' Photinus pallens'' Fabricius, 1798Originally described as ''Lampyris pullens'', a ''

nomen oblitum In zoological nomenclature, a ''nomen oblitum'' (plural: ''nomina oblita''; Latin for "forgotten name") is a disused scientific name which has been declared to be obsolete (figuratively "forgotten") in favor of another "protected" name. In its pr ...

'' – Jamaican Firefly * '' Photinus punctulatus'' LeConte, 1852 * '' Photinus pyralis'' Linnaeus, 1767 – Common eastern firefly, big dipper firefly) * '' Photinus tanytoxis'' Lloyd, 1966

Etymology

Systematics

Selected species

See also

References

Further reading