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]
^Stanger-Hall KF, Lloyd JE, Hillis DM (October 2007). "Phylogeny of North American fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae): implications for the evolution of light signals". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45 (1): 33–49. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.05.013. PMID 17644427.
^Bocak L, Motyka M, Bocek M, Bocakova M (2018-03-14). Chiang TY (ed.). "Incomplete sclerotization and phylogeny: The phylogenetic classification of Plastocerus (Coleoptera: Elateroidea)". PLOS ONE. 13 (3): e0194026. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1394026B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0194026. PMC 5851614. PMID 29538419.
^Kusy D, Motyka M, Bocek M, Vogler AP, Bocak L (November 2018). "Genome sequences identify three families of Coleoptera as morphologically derived click beetles (Elateridae)". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 17084. Bibcode:2018NatSR...817084K. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-35328-0. PMC 6244081. PMID 30459416.
^Branham MA, Wenzel JW (2001). "The evolution of bioluminescence in cantharoids (Coleoptera: Elateroidea)". Florida Entomologist. 84 (4): 565–586. doi:10.2307/3496389. ISSN 1938-5102. JSTOR 3496389.
^Branham MA, Wenzel JW (February 2003). "The origin of photic behavior and the evolution of sexual communication in fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)". Cladistics. 19 (1): 1–22. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2003.tb00404.x. PMID 34905865. S2CID 46266960.
^Lawrence JF, Hastings AM, Dallwitz MJ, Paine TA, Zurcher EJ (October 2005). Elateriformia (Coleoptera): descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval for families and subfamilies: Lampyridae (Report). version of 9. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010.
The Rhagophthalmidae are a family of beetles within the superfamily Elateroidea. Members of this beetle family have bioluminescent organs on the larvae...
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Lycidae, Omethidae (which includes Telegeusidae), Phengodidae, and Rhagophthalmidae. Soldier beetles often feed on both nectar and pollen as well as predating...
the families Lampyridae (~2000 species), Phengodidae (~200 species), Rhagophthalmidae (100 species) and Elateridae (>100 species). Females in several lineages...
Longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) and weevils as well as some fireflies (Rhagophthalmidae) have divided eyes, while many have eyes that are notched, and a few...
dimorphism in the compound eye of Rhagophthalmus ohbai (Coleoptera: Rhagophthalmidae): Morphology and ultrastructure". Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology...
Phengodidae, the Cydistinae, are found in Western Asia. The family Rhagophthalmidae, an Old World group, used to be included in the Phengodidae. Larval...
for the firefly (Lampyridae), railroad worm (Phengodidae), starworm (Rhagophthalmidae), and click-beetle (Pyrophorini) bioluminescent systems. It is the...
known larvae and neotenic larva-like females of the closely related Rhagophthalmidae and Phengodidae are bioluminescent, live in leaf litter and soil, and...
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