Rhagophthalmidae is a family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of beetle

Beetle

Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...

s within the larger Elateroidea

Elateroidea

Elateroidea is a large superfamily of beetles. It contains the familiar click beetles, fireflies, and soldier beetles, and their relatives.Certain clusters of families within the superfamily are more strongly related to one another; for example, the Elateridae has close ties to Anischiidae,...

 group that include click-beetles. Members of this beetle family have bioluminescent organs on the larvae and are closely related to the Phengodidae

Phengodidae

The beetle family Phengodidae is known also as glowworm beetles, whose larvae are known as glowworms. The females and larvae have bioluminescent organs. They occur throughout the New World from extreme southern Canada to Chile...

 (glowworm beetles) and Lampyridae (fireflies), and were often included in one of these families as a subfamily—Rhagophthalminae. Towards the end of the 20th century, they were increasingly seen as a distinct family. But they might be the only reasonably close living relatives of the mysterious fireflies of genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Pterotus, and could eventually end up in a Lampyridae subfamily with these. They were mainly included in the Phengodidae for having similar adaptation

Adaptation

An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....

 for displaying glowing lights. However, this seems to be due to convergent evolution

Convergent evolution

Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages.The wing is a classic example of convergent evolution in action. Although their last common ancestor did not have wings, both birds and bats do, and are capable of powered flight. The wings are...

. If they indeed belong in the Lampyridae, they are related to a group of families that have either a distinct type of flashing lights (Luciolinae

Luciolinae

The Luciolinae are among the largest subfamilies of fireflies . They seem to be all "flashing" fireflies...

) or rely exclusively or nearly so on pheromones for communication (the others).

Whatever their relationships may be, Rhagophthalmidae are distributed in the Old World

Old World

The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....

, and little is known of their biology. Females are usually wingless and look like larvae, but have an adult beetle's eyes, antennae and legs; in the genus Diplocladon, they resemble larvae even more with their small light organs on all trunk segments. Larvae and females live in soil and litter and are predaceous; males may be attracted to lights at night.

Genera

• Cydistus
• Dioptoma
• Diplocladon
• Dodecatoma
• Falsophrixothrix
• Ochotrya
• Rhagophthalmus