''Phausis'' is a genus of

firefly 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 ...

beetles (family Lampyridae). These beetles are for the most part unimpressive in their appearance and behaviour, so have not drawn much study, and little is known about many of the species. Species in this genus are at least known from

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Ten species are described in North America, ranging throughout much of the continent. The genera ''Phausis'' and '' Lamprohiza'' are very similar and in need of revision; the delimitations between the two are not clear. Alternatively, ''Phausis'' may be

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

and/or at least in part

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with ''Lamprohiza''. The genus is traditionally placed in the tribe

Photinini The Photinini are a large tribe of fireflies in the subfamily Lampyrinae. ''Photinus pyralis'' is famous in biotechnology for its luciferase gene. This is sometimes employed as a marker gene; genetically modified organisms which contain it st ...

of the Lampyrinae, but at least the blue ghost firefly, '' Phausis reticulata'' does not seem to be particularly close to this group (or ''Lamprohiza'' for that matter) and might not even belong in the

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 subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Lampyrinae.

Description

''Phausis'' males are small compared to many fireflies, ranging from about . Most are brown to brown-black in colour and have transparent "window" spots in the front half of the pronotum. A key characteristic distinguishing adult male ''Phausis'' from most other firefly genera is the presence of a minute glassy bead at the tip of each

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

. Males have huge eyes. Female ''Phausis'' specimens are assumed to be larviform; the females have not been discovered, possibly because they often live in burrows in the soil, so are not easily collected. Most males are not luminescent, while females are likely to emit

bioluminescence 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 ...

in the form of a continuous glow. Males of the species '' Phausis reticulata'' also emit a faint, constant glow.

Species

* '' Phausis californica'' Fender, 1966 * '' Phausis dorothae'' Fender, 1961 * '' Phausis inaccensa'' LeConte, 1878 * '' Phausis luminosa'' Fender, 1966 * '' Phausis marina'' Fender, 1966 * '' Phausis nigra'' Hopping, 1937 * '' Phausis reticulata'' – blue ghost firefly * '' Phausis rhombica'' Fender, 1961 * '' Phausis riversi'' (LeConte, 1884 (1885)) * '' Phausis skelleyi'' Fender, 1961

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4042575 Lampyridae Lampyridae genera Bioluminescent insects Taxa named by John Lawrence LeConte