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Lampyrinae Lucidotini contains nearly a third of the world’s Lampyridae. The lack of revisions and the overlap of diagnostic features across taxonomic levels have hindered identification and, therefore, further studies of Lucidotini taxa. The use of terminalia and genital traits in Lucidotini phylogenies has been fundamental to inform and update the genus-level delimitations in this group. One important open question is whether the presence of increased-length abdominal segment VIII (in relation to segment VII) in the closely related genera Scissicauda and Haplocauda is synapomorphic or homoplastic. In recent collecting efforts combined with studies of specimens deposited in different scientific collections, we found specimens hypothesized as four new firefly species from the Amazon basin that share the unique characteristics of the male abdomen of Haplocauda species. To test the hypothesis that these new species are monophyletic and sisters to Haplocauda species, and that the augmented segment VIII is synapomorphic to Scissicauda + Haplocauda, we ran phylogenetic analyses building upon a pre-existing character matrix, including a wide sample of Lucidotini and neighboring branches. Our results support the placement of the four new species described here (H. lata sp. nov., H. amazonensis sp. nov., H. aculeata sp. nov. and H. antimary sp. nov.) in Haplocauda. Importantly, one species with regular-sized segment VIII sclerites was recovered as the earliest diverging lineages of Haplocauda, suggesting that segment VIII was augmented at least twice in the Lucidotini—the other one being within Scissicauda. We also report, for the first time, a sympatry between Haplocauda species. We revised the definition of Haplocauda and updated the distribution of H. mendesi and the existing key to species. Full article

Photinini is the largest tribe of Lampyrinae fireflies, with over 30 genera and nearly 750 species, and includes taxa where adults may or may not have light organs. A focus on taxa with bioluminescent adults left the taxonomy of dark fireflies in poor condition compared to taxa with lit adults. A recent phylogenetic study based on molecular data supported the transfer of Scissicauda McDermott, 1964—traditionally placed in Amydetinae due to the flabellate antenna of its type species—to Photinini at a branch sided with Pyropyga Motschulsky, 1852 and Pyractonema Solier, 1849. Such placement had never been recovered before in morphology-based studies, and the consequences for the interpretation of character evolution in this lineage are yet to be addressed. Moreover, Scissicauda was previously thought to be endemic to the Atlantic Forest. Here, through phylogenetic analyses of 38 taxa and 108 morphological characters, we (i) expand on the concept of Scissicauda to include S. antennata sp. nov., S. asymmetrica sp. nov., S. aurata sp. nov., S. biflabellata sp. nov., S. gomesi sp. nov., S. jamari sp. nov., S. neyi sp. nov., S. truncata sp. nov., and (ii) transfer Lucidota malleri Pic, 1935 and, therefore, S. malleri comb. nov. We also recover Pyropyga + Pyractonema as sister to Scissicauda + Haplocauda, providing the first morphological evidence for their sisterhood. Noteworthy, the new species S. biflabellata sp. nov. and S. asymmetrica sp. nov. stand out as the first known Photinini species with biflabellate antennae. In addition, our study reports the first Scissicauda species in the Amazon (S. antennata sp. nov., S. aurata sp. nov., S. gomesi sp. nov., S. jamari sp. nov., and S. truncata sp. nov.) and Cerrado biome (S. neyi sp. nov.). Our study highlights the value of continued sampling and phylogenetic analyses of South American fireflies towards a revised classification and deeper understanding of this lineage. Full article

Most firefly genera have poorly defined taxonomic boundaries, especially in the Neotropics, where they are more diverse and more difficult to identify. Recent advances that shed light on the diversity of fireflies in South America have focused mainly on Atlantic Rainforest taxa, whereas lampyrids in other biomes remained largely unstudied. We found three new firefly species endemic to the Amazon basin that share unique traits of the male abdomen where sternum VIII and the pygidium are modified and likely work as a copulation clamp. Here we test and confirm the hypothesis that these three species form a monophyletic lineage and propose Haplocauda gen. nov. to accommodate the three new species. Both maximum parsimony and probabilistic (Bayesian and maximum likelihood) phylogenetic analyses confirmed Haplocauda gen. nov. monophyly, and consistently recovered it as the sister group to Scissicauda, fireflies endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest that also feature a copulation clamp on abdominal segment VIII, although with a different configuration. We provide illustrations, diagnostic descriptions, and keys to species based on males and females. The three new species were sampled from different regions, and are likely allopatric, a common pattern among Amazonian taxa. Full article