Microphotus pecosensis (a firefly) | Natural Heritage New Mexico

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Coleoptera

Family: Lampyridae

Genus: Microphotus

Species: pecosensis

a firefly - Microphotus pecosensis

1379032

Species Extent (New Mexico)

Global Rank: GU

State Rank: S1

Rank Metadata
State Rank: S1	Rank Changed: 05/09/2025
Rank Reviewed: N/A
Reason: This desert dwelling nocturonal firefly has an Extent of Occurrence of 14,635km2 however, a small Area of Occupancy of just 5km2. Furthermore, the species is currently only known from four occurrences in New Mexico and faces a wide variety of threats that may threaten this species continued survival. The species is also somewhat intrinsically vulnerable to these threats due to its specialized habitat requirements and the females being somewhat sedentary. However, little surveying has been done for this species and it is nocturnal. There are unconfirmed reports from the Gila in New Mexico which would be a significant range expansion. However, at this time the species is currently assessed as S1 in New Mexico. Although a reassesment should be done if more information becomes available.

Ecological Factors
Specificity: Very narrow. Specialist or community with key requirements scarce.	Range Extent: 5000-20,000 square km (about 2000-8000 square miles)
Occurences: 1 - 5	Population Size: Unknown
Area of Occupancy: An Area of Occupancy of 5km2 was calcualted on GeoCat using using points aggregated by local firefly experts (A. Walker 2025).	Threat Summary: N/A

State Status:

Federal Status:

USFS Status:

BLM Status:

SWAP Status:

NMRP Strategy Status:

Number of Subpopulations: 0

Number of Mapped Locations: 0

Number of Observations: 0

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