Phausis LeConte 1852
Creators: name: Hodson, Alicia M.
name: Branham, Marc A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Lampyridae
Phausis

description: Phausis LeConte, 1852
Phausis LeConte 1852. 5: 337 (
Type species: Lampyris reticulata Say 1825 by monotypy).
Diagnosis. Males. The genus Phausis is characterized by the following morphological characters: a anterior vitreous spots, (except in P. dorothae; Fig. 17C) above the eyes on the pronotum (Figs. 17A–B, D–F; 18A–F; 19A); 11 antennomeres; dull in color (brown); a small glabrous, sub-spherical sensorium (terminal antennal bead) located on the anterior end of the last antennomere (Fender 1966); photic organs present on VI and VII abdominal segments some species (Figs. 20A–C).
Description. Length 2.5 to 8.5 mm. Head. Vertex of head in concave in most species; ocelli absent; mandibles normal; labial palps reduced. Antennae. 11 antennomeres; scape and pedicel shorter than remaining antennomeres; last antennomere with a small glabrous sub-spherical sensorium on the distal end. Pronotum. Males with anterior vitreous areas (spots) on the pronotum (except for Phausis dorothae). Legs. Tibial spurs absent; tarsi with four segments, fourth segment short and bilobed, tarsal claws simple. Venter. Tergal apical lateral angles strongly lobed; last abdominal tergite apically notched; photic organs present medially on the VI and VII abdominal segments of species with bioluminescent males.
Diagnosis. Females. The only known females for the genus are Phausis reticulata and P. inaccensa. Females are characterized by the following characters: Anterior vitreous areas (pronotal spots) above the eyes absent; paedomorphic, pale, with tergal apical lateral angles translucent; abdomen with 8 visible segments; photic organs present.
Description. Length 5 to 11.5mm. Head. Ocelli absent; eyes compound, black. Antennae. Short, does not reach metathorax; 3 to 5 antennomeres (P. inaccensa), 7 antennomeres (P. reticulata; Fig. 21E); last antennomere with a small glabrous sub-spherical sensorium on the distal end. Pronotum. Transverse; anterior vitreous areas (pronotal spots) absent. Venter. Photic organs present. The number and placement of the photic organs of P. reticulata vary between females. Photic organs primarily present along lateral margins of abdominal segments I, VII and VIII, but can sometimes also be observed on other subsequent abdominal segments. Number of photic organs ranges from 3 to 9, and are either symmetrically or asymmetrically placed along each abdominal segment (A. Hodson personal observation; De Cock et al. 2014). Phausis inaccensa females only emit light from 2 photic organs located ventro-laterally on abdominal segment VII (Faust & Forrest 2017). For both females of both species, the photic organs can only be observed when the female is emitting light.
Distribution. The distribution of Phausis is restricted to the United States (Eastern, Southeastern, Pacific Northwest, and Western) and Canada (Alberta, British Columbia) with the exception of a single specimen of P. riversi from Northern Baja California, Mexico (Fig. 1).
description: Published as part of Hodson, Alicia M. & Branham, Marc A., 2024, Revision and Phylogeny of the Genus Phausis (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) with the Description of Three New Species, pp. 1-52 in Zootaxa 5458 (1) on pages 9-10, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5458.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/11348272