Caelifera

Hooded pygmy grasshopper Paratettix cucullatus, copyright Stephen Cresswell.

Belongs within: Panelcanida.
Contains: Tridactyloidea, Eumastacoidea, Pyrgomorphidae, Acridoidea, Acrydiinae.

The Caelifera, including the short-horned grasshoppers, are a clade of orthopterans characterised by the reduction of the antennae. As well as the true grasshoppers of the Acridomorpha, this clade includes the pygmy grasshoppers of the Tetrigidae, small and camouflaged grasshoppers characterised by the posterior extension of the pronotum to the extent that it overlaps with the dorsal surface of the abdomen (Rentz 1996). The Locustopsoidea are a Mesozoic group of grasshoppers that may include the ancestors of the Acridomorpha and Tetrigidae (Gorochov & Rasnitsyn 2002).

Characters (from Rentz 1996): Antennae rather robust, thread-like, rarely with more than 30 segments, usually shorter than body length. Mandibles chewing-type, usually symmetrical, with greatly enlarged, heavy molar teeth. Thoracic segments generally not concealed by pronotum. Tarsi typically with three or fewer segments; fore tibiae lacking auditory receptors. Fan of hind wing confined to anal lobe. Base of abdomen with lateral auditory tympana. Ovipositor short, usually stout, composed of four main independent valves. Male subgenital plate formed from ninth sternum, lacking styles; phallic structures including aedeagus. Three pairs of gastric caeca present at junction of fore- and mid-gut.

<==Caelifera [Acridina, Acrydiana]
    |  i. s.: Eolocustopsis Riek 1976 BN02
    |         Triassolocusta leptoptera R70
    |--+--Dzhajloutshellidae GR02
    |  `--Tridactyloidea GR02
    `--+--Locustopsoidea GR02
       |    |--Locustavidae GR02
       |    |    |--Locustavus Sharov 1968 BR05
       |    |    |--Mesacridites Riek 1954 BR05
       |    |    |    `--*M. elongata Riek 1954 BR05
       |    |    `--Ferganopsis Sharov 1968 BR05
       |    |         `--*F. lanceolatus Sharov 1968 BR05
       |    `--Locustopsidae [Locustopseidae] GR02
       |         |  i. s.: Araripelocustinae GR02
       |         |         Zeunerella arborea RJ93
       |         |--Praelocustopsis mirabilis Sharov 1968 BN02
       |         `--+--Plesioschwinzia thalassophila Zessin 1988 BN02
       |            `--Locustopsis [Locustopsinae] BN02
       |                 `--L. karatavica Sharov 1968 BN02
       |--Acridomorpha [Pamphagoidea] E00
       |    |  i. s.: Omalotettix E00
       |    |--Eumastacoidea E00
       |    `--+--Tanaocerus SH72 [Tanaoceridae, Tanaoceroidea E00]
       |       |    `--T. koebelei SH72
       |       |--Trigonopterygoidea E00
       |       |    |--Trigonopterygidae E00
       |       |    `--Xyronotidae E00
       |       |         |--Xyronotus aztecus E00
       |       |         `--Azyronotus cantralli E00
       |       `--+--+--Pyrgomorphidae E00
       |          |  `--Acridoidea GR02
       |          `--Pneumora L02 [Pneumoridae E00, Pneumoroidea]
       |               |--P. inanis L02
       |               |--P. papillosa L02
       |               |--P. sexguttata G20
       |               `--P. variolosa L02
       `--Tetrigidae [Acrydiidae, Tettigidae, Tetrigoidea] GR02
            |  i. s.: Prototetrix reducta GR02
            |         Vingselina brunneri R91
            |         Euparatettix tricarinatus SLH18
            |         Hedotettix amplus SLH18
            |         Pelusca SLH18
            |         Succinotettix chopardi P92
            |--Cladonotinae R96
            |--Metrodorinae R96
            |--Acrydiinae RD77
            |--Scelimeninae R96
            |    |--Loxilobus [Criotettigini] SLH18
            |    `--Scelimena [Scelimenini] SLH18
            |         |--S. erimeta SLH18
            |         `--S. kempi SLH18
            |--Batrachideinae P03
            |    |--Batrachidea mucronata SLH18
            |    |--Tettigidea P03
            |    |    |--T. hancocki Bruner 1910 R18
            |    |    `--T. lateralis P03
            |    `--Saussurella Bolivar 1887 [incl. Cassitettix Yin 1984, Cassitettinae, Cassitettini] P03
            |         |--S. cucullifera P03
            |         |--S. inelevata P03
            |         `--‘*Cassitettix’ longiptera Yin 1984 P03
            `--Tetriginae P03
                 |--Mishtshenkotetrix transsylvanica P03
                 |--Coptotettix gibbus R96
                 |--Tetrix Latreille 1802 L02
                 |    |--T. bipunctata [=Acrydium bipunctatum] L02
                 |    |--T. ornata P03
                 |    |--T. subulata P03 [=Acrydium subulatum L02; incl. A. granulatum P03]
                 |    |--T. tenuicornis K09
                 |    `--T. undulata K08
                 `--Paratettix P03
                      |--P. albolimbatus R96
                      |--P. argillaceus R91
                      |--P. cucullatus P03
                      |--P. femoralis Z94
                      |--P. nigrescens Z94
                      |--P. schochi SLH18
                      `--P. texanus D51

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BN02] Béthoux, O., & A. Nel. 2002. Venation pattern and revision of Orthoptera sensu nov. and sister groups. Phylogeny of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic Orthoptera sensu nov. Zootaxa 96: 1–88.

[BR05] Béthoux, O., & A. J. Ross. 2005. Mesacridites Riek, 1954 (Middle Triassic; Australia) transferred from Protorthoptera to Orthoptera: Locustavidae. Journal of Paleontology 79 (3): 607–610.

[D51] Dobzhansky, T. 1951. Genetics and the Origin of Species 3^rd ed. Columbia University Press: New York.

[E00] Eades, D. C. 2000. Evolutionary relationships of phallic structures of Acridomorpha (Orthoptera). Journal of Orthoptera Research 9: 181–210.

[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.

[GR02] Gorochov, A. V., & A. P. Rasnitsyn. 2002. Superorder Gryllidea Laicharting, 1781 (=Orthopteroidea Handlirsch, 1903). In: Rasnitsyn, A. P., & D. L. J. Quicke (eds) History of Insects pp. 293–303. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.

[K08] Köhler, G. 2008. Populationsstudien aus Gemeinen Grashüpfer, Chorthippus parallelus (Zetterstedt), entlang eines Höhengradienten im Mittleren Erzgebirge. Mauritiana 20 (2): 349–370.

[K09] Köhler, G. 2009. Heuschrecken (Saltatoria) und Ohrwürmner (Dermaptera) im Immissionsgebiet des Düngemittelwerkes Steudnitz/Thüringen—eine Langzeitstudie (1978–2001). Mauritiana 20 (3): 601–646.

[L02] Latreille, P. A. 1802. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière des crustacés et des insectes vol. 3. Familles naturelles des genres. F. Dufart: Paris.

[P03] Podgornaya, L. I. 2003. Morphology of the male genitalia in tetrigids (Orthoptera, Tetrigidae) and change of rank of the subfamily Cassitettinae Yin, 1984. Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie 82 (1): 86–89 (translated: Entomological Review 83 (1): 1–3).

[P92] Poinar, G. O., Jr. 1992. Life in Amber. Stanford University Press: Stanford.

[R18] Rehn, J. A. G. 1918. On a collection of Orthoptera from the State of Pará, Brazil. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 144–236, pls 1–2.

[R91] Rentz, D. C. F. 1991. Orthoptera (grasshoppers, locusts, katydids, crickets). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers vol. 1 pp. 369–393. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[R96] Rentz, D. 1996. Grasshopper Country: The abundant orthopteroid insects of Australia. University of New South Wales Press: Sydney.

[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms' General Textbook of Entomology 10^th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.

[R70] Riek, E. F. 1970. Fossil history. In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers pp. 168–186. Melbourne University Press.

[RJ93] Ross, A. J., & E. A. Jarzembowski. 1993. Arthropoda (Hexapoda; Insecta). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 363–426. Chapman & Hall: London.

[SH72] Schroeter, G. L., & G. M. Hewitt. 1972. Cytology of some California grasshoppers. 1. Taxonomic considerations (Orthoptera: Acridoidea). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 48 (1): 27–36.

[SLH18] Seeman, O. D., E. E. Lindquist & R. W. Husband. 2018. A new tribe of tarsonemid mites (Trombidiformes: Heterostigmata) parasitic on tetrigid grasshoppers (Orthoptera). Zootaxa 4418 (1): 1–54.

[Z94] Zhang, Z.-Q. 1994. Neothrombiidae (Acari: Trombidioidea) of the world: systematic review with a phylogenetic analysis and descriptions of two new genera. Oriental Insects 28: 205–237.

Last updated: 23 May 2022.