| Pyrophorus punctatissimus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pyrophorus punctatissimus from Paraguay. Mounted specimen | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Elateridae |
| Subfamily: | Agrypninae |
| Tribe: | Pyrophorini |
| Genus: | Pyrophorus |
| Species: | P. punctatissimus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pyrophorus punctatissimus Blanchard, 1843 | |
Pyrophorus punctatissimus is a species of click beetle (family Elateridae).
Pyrophorus punctatissimus can reach a length of about 30 millimetres (1.2 in). The basic coloration is dark brown. The antennae are serrate. The pronotum shows a long backward-pointing tooth.
These beetles are bioluminescent by means of two light organs at the posterior corners of the prothorax, and a broad area on the dorsal region of the abdomen, hidden by the wings and seen when flying. Their bioluminescence is similar to that of another group of beetles, the fireflies, although click beetles do not flash, but remain constantly glowing. Also the larvae and the pupae have light organs.
This species can be found in Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Cuba.
Elateridae or click beetles are family of beetles. Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, spring beetles or skipjacks. This family was defined by William Elford Leach (1790–1836) in 1815. They are a cosmopolitan beetle family characterized by the unusual click mechanism they possess. There are a few other families of Elateroidea in which a few members have the same mechanism, but most elaterid subfamilies can click. A spine on the prosternum can be snapped into a corresponding notch on the mesosternum, producing a violent "click" that can bounce the beetle into the air. Clicking is mainly used to avoid predation, although it is also useful when the beetle is on its back and needs to right itself. There are about 9300 known species worldwide, and 965 valid species in North America.
Glow worm or glow-worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larvi form females that glow through bioluminescence. They include the European common glow-worm and other members of the Lampyridae, but bioluminescence also occurs in the families Elateridae, Phengodidae, and Rhagophthalmidae among beetles; as well as members of the genera Arachnocampa, Keroplatus, and Orfelia among keroplatid fungus gnats.
The Elateroidea are a large superfamily of beetles. It contains the familiar click beetles, fireflies, and soldier beetles and their relatives.
Pyrophorus is a genus of click beetle. They are one of several genera in the tribe Pyrophorini, all of which are bioluminescent. Their bioluminescence is similar to that of another group of beetles, the fireflies, although click beetles do not flash, but remain constantly glowing. They have two luminescent spots at the posterior corners of the pronotum, and another brighter light organ on the most-anterior surface of the ventral abdomen. This light organ is even brighter and can only be seen when in flight. Bioluminescent click beetles are found throughout tropical, subtropical and temperate America. Species from Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Cuba are now in different genera in the tribe Pyrophorini, such as Deilelater and Ignelater.
The Rhagophthalmidae are a family of beetles within the superfamily Elateroidea. Members of this beetle family have bioluminescent organs on the larvae, and sometimes adults, and are closely related to the Phengodidae, though historically they have been often treated as a subfamily of Lampyridae, or as related to that family. Some recent evidence suggested that they were the sister group to the Phengodidae, and somewhat distantly related to Lampyridae, whose sister taxon was Cantharidae, but more reliable genome-based phylogenetics placed as the sister group to the Lampyridae.
Ignelater luminosus, known as the cucubano, is a species of click beetle native to the island of Puerto Rico. Cucubanos are often confused with fireflies, which are in a different family (Lampyridae), as they can also emit light from the thorax. Their paired prothorax light organs and single light organ on the anterior surface of the abdomen gives the appearance of two "headlights" and one "backlight", which it can turn off independently.
Actenicerus siaelandicus is a species of click beetle belonging to the family Elateridae, subfamily Dendrometrinae.
Denticollis linearis is a species of click beetle belonging to the family Elateridae subfamily Dendrometrinae.
Mellitus was the third Archbishop of Canterbury in the early 7th century AD.
Pyrophorus noctilucus, common name Headlight Elater, is a species of click beetle.
Pyrophorus tuberculifer is a species of click beetle.
Pyrearinus candelarius is a species of click beetle.
Drilini is a tribe of beetles known commonly as the false firefly beetles, in the family Elateridae.
Eucnemidae, or false click beetles, are a family of polyphagan beetles including about 1700 species distributed worldwide.
Cardiophorus is a genus of click beetles.
Ignelater is a genus of click beetle. They are one of several genera in the tribe Pyrophorini, all of which are bioluminescent. Most of the species were formerly in the genus Pyrophorus.
Vesperelater is a genus of click beetle. They are one of several genera in the tribe Pyrophorini, all of which are bioluminescent. Most of the species were formerly in the genus Pyrophorus.
The Pyrophorini are a New World taxonomic tribe within the Elateridae subfamily Agrypninae. Pyrophorini is a tribe of bioluminescent beetles, and includes such genera as Pyrophorus and Ignelater.
Sinopyrophorus is a genus of bioluminescent hard-bodied clicking beetles in the superfamily Elateroidea, and is the sole member of the recently recognized family Sinopyrophoridae. The genus currently contains a single species, Sinopyrophorus schimmeli, which was described in 2019 from the subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests of western Yunnan, China.
Ctenicera virens is a species of click beetles.
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