Firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) species from the Atlantic Forest hotspot, Brazil.

Study Extent

The samples were collected from different areas throughout the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, including firefly records from the Northeastern to South regions (Fig. 04A-B). The data obtained from entomological collections was georeferenced by using the information in specimens’ labels and the appropriate gazetteers.

Sampling

Information on lampyrid specimens included in this study was obtained from scientific collections, literature and unpublished data from fieldwork research over nine years throughout the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. The samples were evaluated from different areas in the Brazilian coast, mainly from the Southeastern and South regions (Fig. 01), which are the most densely inhabited. Our field expeditions were done between 2013 and 2022, and encompassed the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos, Parque Nacional da Tijuca, Parque Estadual da Ilha Grande, and Parque Estadual da Pedra Branca, all placed at Rio de Janeiro State. The scientific collections digitized contained records of fireflies sampled from the 1885’s to the present. DZRJ - Coleção entomológica Prof. José Alfredo Pinheiro Dutra from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CLEI - Coleção do Laboratório de Ecologia de Insetos from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CEIOC - Coleção Entomológica do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. DZUP/UFPR - Coleção Entomológica Pe. Jesus Santiago Moure from Universidade Federal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil. MZSP - Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. UFRPE - Coleção entomológica da Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, Brazil. Firefly species were analyzed under a stereomicroscope and we imaged characters relevant for species identification. All of them were compared to the species’ type material, when available. For specimens whose identity could not be confirmed to the species level, we included a morphotype code (“sp1”, “sp2” and so on). This code was standardized by the first author, so all specimens with the same code in the database pertain to the same morphotype. Fieldwork The surveys at Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos, Parque Nacional da Tijuca, Parque Estadual da Pedra Branca, and Parque Estadual da Ilha Grande were conducted following the same protocol. We used malaise traps (Fig. 02) and active search across all habitat types and seasons, to enhance the coverage and completeness of our sampling effort. This fieldwork methodology increased the overall success of the surveys (see Silveira et al. 2020). Literature Most of the data incorporated into this dataset came from our team, which includes two leading lampyrid taxonomists: Stephanie Vaz and Luiz Silveira. Together, SV and LS have been studying and collecting fireflies since 2010, and helped build one of the most comprehensive and well curated firefly collections in the Americas. This work includes (i) the original descriptions of many of the endemic species covered in this dataset, and (ii) monographic reviews which confirmed the endemism (to the Atlantic Forest) of several other species. Data was taken from the original source (Bocakova et al. 2022; Campello-Gonçalves et al. 2019, Campello-Gonçalves et al. 2022; Silveira and Mermudes 2013, 2014a, 2014b; Silveira et al. 2015, Silveira et al. 2016a, 2016b; Silveira and Mermudes 2017; Nunes et al. 2019; Silveira et al. 2019; Silveira et al. 2020; Silveira et al. 2021; Vaz et al. 2020; Vaz et al. 2021a, 2021b).

Quality Control

All records were validated geographically and taxonomically. Coordinates were plotted and revised to verify the geographical location and locality. All scientific names were checked for types and matched to the species information.

Method steps

1. As a traditional custom in Neotropical entomology collections, most specimens deposited in collections were preserved in entomological drawers under dry conditions. The information contained on the specimens’ labels was collected to build the dataset. Specimens from our fieldwork are preserved in ethanol >90% since the date of collection (Fig. 03), which better preserves soft-bodied insects such as fireflies, and also prevents DNA degradation.

General taxonomic coverage description: Lampyridae specimens consist of 35 genera and 111 species, plus 42 morphotypes which could not be identified with 100% certainty. See the "Taxa included" table below for a full list of species, and Figure 05 for the number of individuals in each genus. The 153 confirmed species in this dataset represent 7.65% of the species recorded worldwide (see Branham 2010), although it is necessary to bear in mind that the total number of Lampyridae species worldwide is still underestimated (Silveira and Mermudes 2013). The most frequently reported species was Photuris femoralis Curtis, 1839, which was recovered from 377 locations. Photinus frater (Olivier, 1905) was the second most abundant, found at 334 locations, followed by Lucidota flabellicornis Fabricius, 1781 (122), Amydetes apicalis Germar, 1824 (104) and Photinus luna Curtis, 1932 (101). The five most abundant species were from the subfamily Photurinae and Lampyrinae. The full firefly dataset was recorded from 14 ecoregions in the Atlantic Forest.

1. Lampyridae
   common name: Fireflies rank: family

The samples were collected from different areas throughout the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, including firefly records from the Northeastern to South regions (Fig. 04A-B). The data obtained from entomological collections was georeferenced by using the information in specimens’ labels and the appropriate gazetteers.