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Firefly Books
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 of light, mainly during twilight, to attract mates. Light production in the Lampyridae is thought to have originated as an honest warning signal that the larvae were distasteful; this was co-opted in evolution as a mating signal in the adults. In a further development, female fireflies of the genus ''Photuris'' mimic the flash pattern of ''Photinus'' species to trap their males as prey. Fireflies are found in temperate and tropical climates. Many live in marshes or in wet, wooded areas where their larvae have abundant sources of food. While all known fireflies glow as larvae, only some species produce light in their adult stage, and the location of the light organ varies among species and between sexes of the same species. Fireflies ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the stratigraphic column deposited during the corresponding age. Both age and stage bear the same name. As a unit of geologic time measure, the Cenomanian Age spans the time between 100.5 and 93.9 million years ago (Mya). In the geologic timescale, it is preceded by the Albian and is followed by the Turonian. The Upper Cenomanian starts around at 95 Mya. The Cenomanian is coeval with the Woodbinian of the regional timescale of the Gulf of Mexico and the early part of the Eaglefordian of the regional timescale of the East Coast of the United States. At the end of the Cenomanian, an anoxic event took place, called the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event or the "Bonarelli event", that is associated with a minor extinction event for marine spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genera
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 nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus '' Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together (i.e. phylogenetic analysis should clearly demons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crepuscular
In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylight and of darkness, respectively. Some crepuscular animals may also be active by moonlight or during an overcast day. Matutinal animals are active only before sunrise, and vespertine only after sunset. A number of factors impact the time of day an animal is active. Predators hunt when their prey is available, and prey try to avoid the times when their principal predators are at large. The temperature at midday may be too high or at night too low. Some creatures may adjust their activities depending on local competition. Etymology and usage The word ''crepuscular'' derives from the Latin '' crepusculum'' ("twilight"). Its sense accordingly differs from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, which respectively peak during hours of daylight and da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 bioluminescent bacteria, and terrestrial arthropods such as fireflies. In some animals, the light is bacteriogenic, produced by symbiotic bacteria such as those from the genus ''Vibrio''; in others, it is autogenic, produced by the animals themselves. In a general sense, the principal chemical reaction in bioluminescence involves a light-emitting molecule and an enzyme, generally called luciferin and luciferase, respectively. Because these are generic names, luciferins and luciferases are often distinguished by the species or group, e.g. firefly luciferin. In all characterized cases, the enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of the luciferin. In some species, the luciferase requires other cofactors, such as calcium or magnesium ions, and somet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elateroidea
The Elateroidea are a large superfamily of beetles. It contains the familiar click beetles, fireflies, and soldier beetles and their relatives. It consists of about 25,000 species. Description Elateroidea is a morphologically diverse group, including hard-bodied beetles with 5 abdominal ventrites, soft-bodied beetles with 7-8 ventrites connected with membranes (formerly known as cantharoids), and beetles with intermediate forms. They have a range of sizes and colours, but in terms of shape, they are usually narrow and parallel-sided as adults. Many of the sclerotised elateroids (Cerophytidae, Eucnemidae, Throscidae, Elateridae) have a clicking mechanism. This is a peg on the prothorax which fits into a cavity in the mesothorax. When a click beetle bends its body, the peg snaps into the cavity, causing the beetle's body to straighten so suddenly that it jumps into the air. Most beetles capable of bioluminescence are in the Elateroidea, in the families Lampyridae (~2000 specie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family (biology)
Family ( la, familia, plural ') is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". What belongs to a family—or if a described family should be recognized at all—are proposed and determined by practicing taxonomists. There are no hard rules for describing or recognizing a family, but in plants, they can be characterized on the basis of both vegetative and reproductive features of plant species. Taxonomists often take different positions about descriptions, and there may be no broad consensus across the scientific community for some time. The publishing of new data and opini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lampyris Noctiluca
''Lampyris noctiluca'', the common glow-worm of Europe (see also "glowworm"), is the type species of beetle in the genus ''Lampyris'' and the family Lampyridae. ''Lampyris noctiluca'' presents a conspicuous sexual dimorphism. The males are winged, with brown elytra, a clearer pronotum and a large brown spot in the middle, while females are larviforme, wings are missing and they are often twice the size of the males (up to in length). These beetles use their bioluminescence to attract mates. The adult females are mostly famed for their glow, although all stages of their life cycle are capable of glowing. In Britain, this species is fairly common compared to its cousin '' Phosphaenus hemipterus'' – the lesser glow worm – which is very rare. Distribution The range of this beetle stretches from Portugal and Ireland in the west, right across Europe, Africa and Asia to China in the east. It also survives further north than any other firefly, almost reaching the Arctic Circle. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pollaclasis
''Pollaclasis'' is a genus of fireflies in the beetle family Lampyridae. There is one described species in ''Pollaclasis'', ''P. bifaria''. ''Pollaclasis'' is most closely related to ''Pterotus ''Pterotus'' is a genus of fireflies in the beetle family Lampyridae. There are at least two described species in ''Pterotus''. Species These two species belong to the genus ''Pterotus'': * ''Pterotus curticornis'' Chemsak, 1978 * ''Pterotus obs ...'', and may someday become included within the Pterotinae subfamily. References Further reading * * Lampyridae Articles created by Qbugbot {{firefly-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oculogryphus
''Oculogryphus'', is an Asian genus of firefly beetles: it has been placed in the Ototretinae or may be considered ''incertae sedis''. The genus contains 4 species. The type species '' O. fulvus'' was discovered from Vietnam. Description Antennae filiform. Large compound eyes are deeply emarginated posteriorly. There are eight abdominal ventrites. No photogenic organs. Females of this genus can fluoresce with a blue-green light whole body. Species rely on photic cues for purposes of mating. Body shape of male is elongate oval. Species * ''Oculogryphus bicolor'' Jeng, Branham & Engel, 2011 - Vietnam * ''Oculogryphus chenghoiyanae'' Yiu & Jeng, 2018 - Hong Kong * ''Oculogryphus fulvus'' Jeng, 2007 - Vietnam * ''Oculogryphus shuensis'' Jeng & Engel, 2014 - China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equival ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamprigera
''Lamprigera'' is a poorly resolved genus of fireflies or glow-worms in the subfamily Lampyrinae, possibly placed in tribe Photinini. Species of the genus ''Lamprigera'' are found in Asia. Species The ''Global Biodiversity Information Facility'' lists: * ''Lamprigera angustior'' Fairmaire, 1886 * ''Lamprigera boyei'' Motschulsky, 1853 * ''Lamprigera crassus'' Gorham, 1880 * ''Lamprigera diffinis'' Walker, 1858 * ''Lamprigera lutosipennis'' Fairmaire, 1897 * ''Lamprigera marusii'' Pic, 1955 * ''Lamprigera minor'' E.Olivier, 1885 * ''Lamprigera morator'' (E.Olivier, 1891) * ''Lamprigera nepalensis'' (Hope, 1831) * ''Lamprigera nitens'' E.Olivier, 1885 * ''Lamprigera nitidicollis'' (Fairmaire, 1881) * ''Lamprigera scutatus'' Fairmaire, 1897 * ''Lamprigera taimoshana'' Yiu, 2017 * ''Lamprigera tarda'' (Gorham, 1895) * ''Lamprigera tenebrosa'' (Walker, 1858) * ''Lamprigera yunnana ''Lamprigera'' is a poorly resolved genus of fireflies or glow-worms in the subfamily Lampyrinae, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
