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

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of fireflies (

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Lampyridae). They are the type genus of

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

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 ...

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. 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 or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

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

Photuris ''Photuris'' is a genus of fireflies (beetles of the 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 beetles; they engage in aggr ...

'' beetles, identify these signals and use them to locate the male ''Photinus'', attract them with deceptive signals, and eat them.

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 where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s, the

Photurinae The Photurinae are a subfamily of fireflies (Lampyridae). They contain many of the well-known North American species, such as the Pennsylvania firefly (''Photuris pennsylvanica''), state insect of Pennsylvania. They are among the "flashing" (as o ...

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

Ellychnia ''Ellychnia'' 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 be ...

'' 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.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

, 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 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 species that contains the biological type specimen ...

(''" 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. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

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

Selected species

* '' Photinus australis'' Green, 1956 * '' Photinus carolinus'' Green, 1956 noted for synchronous flashing * '' Photinus consanguineus'' LeConte, 1852 * '' Photinus concisus'' Lloyd, 1968 * ''

Photinus floridanus Photinus (Greek Φωτεινός; died 376), was a Christian bishop of Sirmium in Pannonia Secunda (today the town Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia), best known for denying the incarnation of Christ, thus being considered a heresiarch by the Catholic C ...

'' Fall, 1927 * '' Photinus fuscus'' * '' Photinus harveyi'' Buck, 1947 * '' Photinus pallens'' (Fabricius, 1798)Originally 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 favour of another 'protected' name. In its p ...

'' – Jamaican Firefly * '' Photinus punctulatus'' LeConte, 1852 * '' Photinus pyralis'' – common eastern firefly, big dipper firefly * '' Photinus tanytoxis'' Lloyd, 1966

Systematics

Selected species

See also

References

Further reading