Pyrearinus is a genus of click beetle (family Elateridae).
As one of the members of the tribe Pyrophorini, all species of this genus have luminous organs on their abdomen;. among them, larvae of (described from Emas National Park, Brazil) are responsible for so-called "luminous termite hill" known to human beings at least since 1850...
Description Size variable (from 7 to 26 mm). Brownish or black; some species have a bicolorous prothorax (lateral margins yellowish or reddish and discal region darker). Pubescence dense, short and yellowish or not so dense and apparently absent. Eyes little prominent in males. Antennae short, serrate from the fourth segment onwards; second small, third a little longer, elongate and almost of the same length as the fourth. Prothorax more or less convex. Luminous spots flat or slightly convex, localized posteriorly; in species with bicolorous prothorax the spots are confused with the color of the integument. Punctures variable. Mesosternal cavity sinusoidal. Metacoxal plates tapering outwardly. Abdominal luminous organ small, sometimes indistinct. Male genitalia extremely homogeneous; median lobe tapering to apex; lateral lobe short. Female genitalia, bursa copulatrix more or less spiraled with a variable number of long spines; median oviduct with sclerotized plates. Sexual dimorphism more or less accentuated, males with eyes larger than the females, and with longer antennae; in one species group (nyctolampis) the females have hind wings little shorter than usual..
List of species
The following list is based upon unless otherwise noted. (Candèze, 1863) Colombia Costa, 1978 Brazil Pyrearinus alvarengai (Cobos, 1959) Argentina; Brazil (Candèze, 1863) Suriname; French Guiana Costa, 1978 Uruguay (Schwarz, 1902) Ecuador (Eschscholtz, 1829) Brazil Costa, 1978 Argentina Pyrearinus candelarius (Germar, 1841) Brazil, Argentina Costa, 1978 Brazil Costa, 1978 Brazil (Germar, 1841) Brazil Costa, 1978 Brazil Costa, 1978 Brazil (Germar, 1841) Brazil (Blanchard, 1843) Bolivia Costa, 1978 Argentina Costa, 1978 Brazil Costa, 1978 Brazil (Candèze, 1865) French Guiana Costa, 1978 Brazil Costa, 1978 Brazil Pyrearinus janus (Herbst, 1806) Brazil (Illiger, 1807) Brazil (Candèze, 1863) Brazil Costa, 1978 Brazil (Candèze, 1863) Paraguay (Illiger, 1807) Brazil; Argentina (Illiger, 1807) Peru (Germar, 1841) Brazil Costa, 1978 Brazil Costa, 1978 Brazil Chassain, 2010 French Guiana (Illiger, 1807) Brazil (Germar, 1841) Brazil (Germar, 1841) Brazil (Candèze, 1863) Brazil Costa, 1978 Paraguay (Illiger, 1807) Brazil Costa, 1978 Brazil (Candèze, 1881) Brazil Pyrearinus termitilluminans Costa, 1982 Brazil. Costa, 1978 Brazil Costa, 1978 Brazil (Germar, 1841) Brazil
Synonyms Pyrearinus candens (Germar, 1841) Brazil - accepted by , but synonymized with P. brevicollis by Pyrearinus gibbicollis (Blanchard, 1843) Argentina - accepted by , but synonymized with P. nyctolampis by
References
Bibliography