Gryllidae Temporal range: | |
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Female Gryllus campestris | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Orthoptera |
Suborder: | Ensifera |
Superfamily: | Grylloidea |
Family: | Gryllidae Laicharting, 1781 [1] |
Synonyms [2] | |
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The family Gryllidae contains the subfamilies and genera which entomologists now term true crickets . Having long, whip-like antennae, they belong to the Orthopteran suborder Ensifera, which has been greatly reduced in the last 100 years (e.g. Imms [3] ): taxa such as the spider-crickets and allies, sword-tail crickets, wood or ground crickets and scaly crickets have been elevated to family level. [lower-alpha 1] The type genus is Gryllus and the first use of the family name "Gryllidae" was by Francis Walker. [4]
They have a worldwide distribution (except Antarctica). [2] The largest members of the family are the 5 cm (2 in)-long bull crickets ( Brachytrupes ) which excavate burrows a metre or more deep. The tree crickets (Oecanthinae) are delicate white or pale green insects with transparent fore wings, while the field crickets (Gryllinae) are robust brown or black insects. [5]
The family is divided into these subfamily groups, subfamilies, and extinct genera (not placed within any subfamily): [2]
The family Prophalangopsidae are insects belonging to the order Orthoptera. They are the only extant members of the superfamily Hagloidea. There is only one extant genus in North America, where they are known as grigs, four genera in Asia, and many extinct genera.
Gryllinae, or field crickets, are a subfamily of insects in the order Orthoptera and the family Gryllidae.
Ensifera is a suborder of insects that includes the various types of crickets and their allies including: true crickets, camel crickets, bush crickets or katydids, grigs, weta and Cooloola monsters. This and the suborder Caelifera make up the order Orthoptera. Ensifera is believed to be a more ancient group than Caelifera, with its origins in the Carboniferous period, the split having occurred at the end of the Permian period. Unlike the Caelifera, the Ensifera contain numerous members that are partially carnivorous, feeding on other insects, as well as plants.
Schizodactylidae is a family of orthopteran insects found in Asia and southern Africa, known as dune crickets or splay-footed crickets. They are usually found in desert and sandy areas. Species are predatory, including Schizodactylus inexspectatus. T. B. Fletcher notes that one captive individual did not feed on any vegetable matter. Fossils are known since the Early Cretaceous.
Tree crickets are insects of the order Orthoptera. These crickets are in the subfamily Oecanthinae of the family Gryllidae.
Trigonidiinae is a subfamily of insects in the order Orthoptera, suborder Ensifera, based on the type genus Trigonidium. They are often referred to as sword-tail crickets, winged bush crickets or trigs.
Platygryllus is a genus of crickets in the subfamily Gryllinae. Records of species distribution include Africa, southern Europe and in Asia: India, Java and the Philippines.
Sam W. Heads is a British palaeontologist, a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, as well as a former Officer and Editor-in-Chief at the Orthopterists' Society.
Phalangopsinae, occasionally known as spider crickets, are a subfamily of crickets in the family Phalangopsidae. Members of Phalangopsinae are found worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions. Most species in the subfamily are nocturnal and can be found in rocky areas, near fallen wood, and the understory of forests. Some species are gregarious, gathering in large numbers.
The Tridactylidae are a family in the insect order Orthoptera. They are small, mole-cricket-like insects, almost always less than 20 mm (0.79 in) long when mature. Generally they are shiny, dark or black, sometimes variegated or sandy-coloured. They commonly live in short tunnels and are commonly known as pygmy mole crickets, though they are not closely related to the true "mole crickets" (Ensifera), as they are included in the Caelifera suborder.
The Eneopterinae are a subfamily of crickets, in the family Gryllidae, based on the type genus Eneoptera. It is one of several groups widely described as "true crickets". Of the more than 500 species that make up this subfamily, most occur in moist, tropical habitats. These insects are medium to large and brown or gray in color. They eat plant leaves, flowers, and fruits and can occasionally cause economic damage. Their eggs are deposited in pith, bark, or wood. Eneopterinae show a great diversity in stridulatory apparatus, signals emitted, and associated behaviour.
Grylloidea is the superfamily of insects, in the order Orthoptera, known as crickets. It includes the "true crickets", scaly crickets, wood crickets and other families, some only known from fossils.
Hapithinae is a subfamily of insects in the cricket family Gryllidae. It is one of several groups referred to in American English as "bush crickets", although this term can be confused with the Tettigoniidae.
Tettigoniidea is an infraorder of the order Orthoptera, with six extant families.
Gryllidea is an infraorder that includes crickets and similar insects in the order Orthoptera. There are two superfamilies, and more than 6,000 described species in Gryllidea.
Podoscirtinae is a subfamily of crickets in the family Gryllidae.
The Landrevinae are a subfamily of crickets, in the family Gryllidae, based on the type genus Landreva. They are terrestrial, omnivorous and may be known as "bark crickets"; genera are distributed in: Central and South America, Africa, tropical Asia, Korea, Japan, Australia and the Pacific Islands.
Locustopsidae is an extinct family of grasshoppers in the order Orthoptera. There are about 17 genera and more than 60 described species in Locustopsidae.
Gryllini is a tribe of crickets and typical of the family Gryllidae. Species are terrestrial, carnivorous or omnivorous and can be found in all continenents except Antarctica.
Elcanidae are an extinct family of Mesozoic and early Cenozoic orthopterans. Members of the family are distinguished by the presence of spurs on the distal part of the metatibia, unique among orthopterans, these have been suggested to have been used for controlling gliding, swimming aids, or for jumping on water. The group combines characteristics from both major groups of orthopterans, with long antennae and nymphal morphology similar to Ensifera, but with wing venation and adult morphology more similar to Caelifera. Their closest relatives are the extinct family Permelcanidae, known from the Early-Late Permian, with which they form the superfamily Elcanoidea, whose relationship to Ensifera and Caelifera are unresolved. Elcanids are known from the Late Triassic to Paleocene of Eurasia, North and South America. Some members of the group exhibited aposematic coloration.