Gerromorpha

Gerromorpha; Temporal range: Kimmeridgian – Holocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	A pair of common water striders ( Gerris lacustris ) copulating
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Heteroptera
Infraorder:	Gerromorpha ; Popov, 1971
Superfamilies
	Gerroidea ; Hebroidea ; Hydrometroidea ; Mesovelioidea

Last updated January 05, 2026

The Gerromorpha comprise an infraorder of insects in the "true bug" order Hemiptera. These "typical" bugs (suborder Heteroptera) are commonly called semiaquatic bugs or shore-inhabiting bugs. The Ochteroidea (infraorder Nepomorpha are also found in shore habitat, while the Gerromorpha are actually most often encountered running around on the water surface, being kept from sinking by surface tension and their water-repellent legs. Well-known members of the Gerromorpha are the namesake Gerridae (water striders).

Systematics

The eight family families usually recognized are arranged in four superfamilies. The two small or monotypic ones of these are basal lineages; the two larger ones form a more advanced clade. The phylogenetic sequence of superfamilies and families of the Gerromorpha is:^[3]

Mesovelioidea – water treaders

Madeoveliidae (sometimes included in Mesoveliidae)
Mesoveliidae

Hebroidea

Hebridae – velvet bugs
Macroveliidae

Hydrometroidea

Paraphrynoveliidae
Hydrometridae – water measurers

Gerroidea

Hermatobatidae
Gerridae – water striders
Veliidae – riffle bugs

References

↑ Nel, André; Nel, Patricia; Krieg-Jacquier, Régis; Pouillon, Jean-Marc; Garrouste, Romain (2 September 2014). "Exceptionally preserved insect fossils in the Late Jurassic lagoon of Orbagnoux (Rhône Valley, France)". PeerJ. 2: e510. doi: 10.7717/peerj.510 . PMC 4159560 . PMID 25210652.
↑ G. Thirumalai. "Checklist of Gerromorpha (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) of India" (PDF). Zoological Survey of India.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
↑ ToL (1995)