Macrolampis

Zaragoza-Caballero, Santiago, Zurita-García, Martín Leonel & Ramírez-Ponce, Andrés, 2023, The on-off pattern in the evolution of the presence of bioluminescence in a derived lineage from fireflies of Mexico (Coleoptera, Lampyridae), Zoologischer Anzeiger 302, pp. 266-283 : 268

Macrolampis ( Figs. 2 and 3 ).

We find a lot of new species in process of description display the same taxonomic problem, that is, they could not be assigned to any of the three genera previously commented on. However, the aedeagus, with a pair of lobes or excrescences of variable shapes and sizes, located on the dorsal part of the median lobe, is a common character that groups them together (Zaragoza–Caballero, 2012; Zaragoza–Caballero et al., 2020) ( Fig. 2A, C ).

The relationship between Photinus and its relatives has never been analyzed in one phylogenetic framework, which would provide information on the usefulness of the previously discussed characters (bioluminescence and genital excrescences) and evidence of the validity and phylogenetic affinities of these taxa. Consequently, a cladistic analysis based on morphological evidence was developed to test the monophyly of Photinus , and to know the phylogenetic informativeness of photogenic and genital organs, some of the most useful characters in traditional taxonomy to differentiate them (Green, 1948; Zaragoza–Caballero, 1995).

Figures

Fig. 2. Morphology of the aedeagus of Photinus extensus Gorham 1881. (A) dorsal. (B) ventral. (C) lateral views (Illustration: Guti´errez-Carranza).

Fig. 3. Fronto-distal view of the male genitalia. (A) Ph. anisodrilus. (B) Ph. tlapacoyaensis. (C) Ph. juarezae. (D) Ph. kleriocaro. (E) Ph. lekoalois. (F) Ph. extensus. (G) Ph. producta. (H) Ph. aliceae. (I) Ph. congruus. (J) Ph. guatemalae. (K) Ph. palloenthis. (L) Ph. viridianae. (M) Ph. sturmii. (N) Ph. platyphallos. (O) Ph. dugesi. Scale bars = 0.2 mm.