Rhagophthalmidae Explained

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 (glowworm beetles), though historically they have been often treated as a subfamily of Lampyridae, or as related to that family.^[1] Some recent evidence suggested that they were the sister group to the Phengodidae, and somewhat distantly related to Lampyridae, whose sister taxon was Cantharidae,^[2] but more reliable genome-based phylogenetics placed (Rhagophthalmidae + Phengodidae) as the sister group to the Lampyridae.^{[3] [4]}

Whatever their relationships may be, Rhagophthalmidae are distributed in the Old World, and little is known of their biology. Females are usually wingless and look like larvae, but have an adult beetle's eyes, antennae and legs; in the genus Diplocladon, they resemble larvae even more, with small light organs on all trunk segments. Larvae and females live in soil and litter and are predaceous; males may be attracted to lights at night.^{[5] [6]}

Genera

• Bicladodrilus
• Bicladon
• Dioptoma
• Diplocladon
• Dodecatoma
• Falsophrixothrix
• Mimoochotyra
• Mondodrilus
• Pseudothilmanus^[7]
• Reductodrilus
• Rhagophthalmus

Notes and References

1. Stanger-Hall KF, Lloyd JE, Hillis DM . Phylogeny of North American fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae): implications for the evolution of light signals . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 45 . 1 . 33–49 . October 2007 . 17644427 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2007.05.013 . 2007MolPE..45...33S .
2. Bocak L, Motyka M, Bocek M, Bocakova M . Incomplete sclerotization and phylogeny: The phylogenetic classification of Plastocerus (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) . PLOS ONE . 13 . 3 . e0194026 . 2018-03-14 . 29538419 . 5851614 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0194026 . 2018PLoSO..1394026B . Chiang TY . free .
3. Kusy D, Motyka M, Bocek M, Vogler AP, Bocak L . Genome sequences identify three families of Coleoptera as morphologically derived click beetles (Elateridae) . Scientific Reports . 8 . 1 . 17084 . November 2018 . 30459416 . 6244081 . 10.1038/s41598-018-35328-0 . 2018NatSR...817084K .
4. Branham MA, Wenzel JW . 2001 . The evolution of bioluminescence in cantharoids (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) . Florida Entomologist . 84 . 4 . en . 565–586 . 10.2307/3496389 . 1938-5102 . 3496389.
5. Branham MA, Wenzel JW . The origin of photic behavior and the evolution of sexual communication in fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) . Cladistics . 19 . 1 . 1–22 . February 2003 . 34905865 . 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2003.tb00404.x . 46266960 .
6. Lawrence JF, Hastings AM, Dallwitz MJ, Paine TA, Zurcher EJ . Elateriformia (Coleoptera): descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval for families and subfamilies: Lampyridae . version of 9 . October 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101127055013/http://delta-intkey.com/elateria/www/rhag.htm . 27 November 2010 .
7. Kundrata R, Bocak L . Redescription and relationships of Pseudothilmanus Pic (Coleoptera: Rhagophthalmidae)—a long-term neglected glow-worm beetle genus from the Himalayas. . Zootaxa . March 2011 . 2794 . 1 . 57–62 . 10.11646/ZOOTAXA.2794.1.4 .