For the science fiction television series, see Firefly (TV series). For other uses, see Firefly (disambiguation).
Firefly
Photuris lucicrescens.jpg
Photuris lucicrescens[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Elateriformia
Superfamily: Elateroidea
Family: Lampyridae
Latreille, 1817
Subfamilies
Cyphonocerinae
Lampyrinae
Luciolinae
Ototretinae (disputed)
Photurinae
and see below
Genera incertae sedis:
Oculogryphus
Pterotus LeConte, 1859
Firefly systematics, as with many insects, are in a constant state of flux, as new species continue to be discovered. The five subfamilies listed above are the most commonly accepted ones, though others, such as the Amydetinae and Psilocladinae, have been proposed. This was mainly done in an attempt to revise the Lampyrinae, which bit by bit had become something of a "wastebin taxon" to hold incertae sedis species and genera of fireflies. Other changes have been proposed, such as merging the Ototretinae into the Luciolinae, but the arrangement used here appears to be the most frequently seen and stable layout for the time being. Though most groups appear to be monophyletic, some (e.g., the tribe Photinini) are perhaps better divided.
Two groups of subfamilies seem to exist: one containing many American and some Eurasian species in the Lampyrinae and Photurinae, and one, predominantly Asian, made up from the other subfamilies. While the subfamilies as understood here are, in general, monophyletic, a few genera still need to be moved for the subfamilies to accurately represent the evolutionary relationships among the fireflies.
The Rhagophthalmidae are a glow worm-like lineage of Elateroidea. They have in the recent past usually been considered a distinct family, but whether this is correct is still disputed. Indeed, they might be the only close relative of the puzzling firefly genus Pterotus, which sometimes is placed in a monotypic subfamily.
The genus Phausis, usually placed in the tribe Photinini of the Lampyrinae, might represent another rather distinct lineage instead.