''Vesperelater'' is 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 ...

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 (biology), family of beetles. Other names include elaters, sna ...

(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 tribe

Pyrophorini The Pyrophorini are a New World taxonomic tribe within the Elateridae (click beetle) subfamily Agrypninae.Kundrata R, Kubaczkova M, Prosvirov AS, Douglas HB, Fojtikova A, Costa C, Bousquet Y, Alonso-Zarazaga MA, Bouchard P (2019) World catalogu ...

, all of which are

bioluminescent Bioluminescence is the emission of light during a chemiluminescence reaction by living organisms. Bioluminescence occurs in multifarious organisms ranging from marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms inc ...

. This genus was established by in 1975, with 4 species split from '' Pyrophorus''..

Description

Small, slender. Reddish-brown.

Pubescence Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's Human body, body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormone, hormonal signals from the Human brain, brain to the gonads: the ovary ...

short, dense and yellowish. Eyes slightly prominent. Front narrow, not prominent. Antennae reaching the hind angles of the

prothorax The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum ( ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on ...

; second and third segments subequal, the two together of the same length as the fourth. Prothorax little convex. Luminous spots lateral, slightly convex and also visible beneath in the proepisternum. Luminous abdominal organ small and lamellate.

Elytra An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometime ...

tapering and rounded to apices. Male

genitalia A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction. Sex organs constitute the primary sex characteristics of an organism. Sex organs are responsible for producing and transporting ...

: median

lobe Lobe may refer to: People with the name * Lobe (surname) Science and healthcare * Lobe (anatomy) * Lobe, a large-scale structure of a radio galaxy * Glacial lobe, a lobe-shaped glacier * Lobation, a characteristic of the nucleus of certain biolo ...

abruptly narrowed near the apex; lateral lobes with one or more pairs of long spines. Female genitalia:

bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

copulatrix

spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects. Two-dimensional A two-dimension ...

ed and with long spines; median

oviduct The oviduct in vertebrates is the passageway from an ovary. In human females, this is more usually known as the fallopian tube. The eggs travel along the oviduct. These eggs will either be fertilized by spermatozoa to become a zygote, or will dege ...

with two pair of

sclerotized Sclerosis (also sclerosus in the Latin names of a few disorders) is a hardening of tissue and other anatomical features. It may refer to: * Sclerosis (medicine), a hardening of tissue * in zoology, a process which forms sclerites, a hardened exo ...

plates. ''

Deilelater ''Deilelater'' is a genus of click beetles in the family Elateridae. They are one of several genera in the tribe Pyrophorini, all of which are bioluminescent. This genus was established by in 1975, with 7 species split from '' Pyrophorus''.. ...

'', another genus of the tribe Pyrophorini occurring in

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

, Mexico, etc., is distinguished from ''Vesperelater'' in male genitalia with well-developed median lobe with numerous

cuticular A cuticle (), or cuticula, is any of a variety of tough but flexible, non-mineral outer coverings of an organism, or parts of an organism, that provide protection. Various types of "cuticle" are non- homologous, differing in their origin, structu ...

, minute

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

Range

Species of this genus occurs in the United States (

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

) and

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

List of species

4 species were transferred from ''Pyrophorus'' by and 5 new species were described by (with type localities given). * ' ( Hyslop, 1918) -

Patagonia Mountains The Patagonia Mountains are a mountain range within the Coronado National Forest, and in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. Geography The Patagonia Mountains begin near the Mexico border east of Nogales, Arizona. Running north, they ...

, U.S.A. * ' - Chamela,

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

* ' - 'Chihualtan', Jalisco, Mexico * ' ( Germar, 1841) - Mexico * ' -

Chilpancingo Chilpancingo de los Bravo (commonly shortened to Chilpancingo; ; Nahuatl: Chilpantzinco ()) is the capital and second-largest city of the Mexican state of Guerrero. In 2010 it had a population of 187,251 people. The municipality has an area of ...

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

* ' (

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

, 1896) -

Islas Marías The Islas Marías ("Mary Islands") make up an archipelago in Mexico, consisting of four islands. They are located in the Pacific Ocean, some off the coast of the state of Nayarit and about southeast of the tip of Baja California. They are part ...

, Mexico * ' (Germar, 1841) - Mexico * ' - Arteaga, Michoacán, Mexico * ' -

Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican resort city near the Bahía de Banderas on the Pacific coast of the Mexico, Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadalajara ...

, Jalisco, Mexico * ' (syn. ''Deilelater sirius'' ) -

...... tentatively treated here by and followed by

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1852777 Elateridae genera Bioluminescent insects