The Omalisinae (formerly family Omalisidae) are a small subfamily of morphologically derived elaterid beetles. The Omalisinae were long considered an independent family in the deprecated superfamily Cantharoidea (more closely related to soft-bodied beetles like fireflies, than click beetles), and later a family in the Elateroidea, but molecular phylogenies have demonstrated that the morphological similarity of Omalisinae to other soft bodied beetles is a case of parallel evolution (homoplasy) of their soft bodies, rather than an apomorphy. Members of this beetle subfamily have been reported to have bioluminescent organs on the larvae,M.A. Branham, J.W. Wenzel (2001) The evolution of bioluminescence in cantharoids (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) The Florida Entomologist 84(4):565-586. although no recent publications have confirmed this. Some recent evidence indicated they were the sister group to a clade comprising the families Rhagophthalmidae and Phengodidae (glowworm beetles),L. Bocak, M. Motyka, M. Bocek, M. Bocakova (2018) Incomplete sclerotization and phylogeny: The phylogenetic classification of Plastocerus (Coleoptera: Elateroidea). however a more comprehensive phylogenetic analysis based on genome sequences strongly supported the Omalisinae as being contained within the Elateridae.
Species
Genus Omalisus Geoffroy, 1762 Omalisus flavangulus (Spåth, 1898) Omalisus fontisbellaquaei Geoffroy in Fourcroy, 1785 Omalisus graecus (Pic, 1901) Omalisus minutus (Pic, 1938) Omalisus nicaeensis (Lesne, 1921) Omalisus nigricornis (Reitter, 1881) Omalisus sanguinipennis (Laporte de Castelnau, 1840) Omalisus taurinensis (Baudi, 1871) Omalisus unicolor (Costa, 1857) Omalisus victoris (Mulsant, 1852) Genus Thilmanus Baudi, 1872 Thilmanus longipennis Pic, 1912 Thilmanus obscurus Baudi, 1872
References Citations
Bibliography Omalisidae Species List at Joel Hallan's Biology Catalog. Texas A&M University. Retrieved on 15 Jul 2011.