The Thericleidae are a family of

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

s within the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Orthoptera Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grassho ...

and superfamily

Eumastacoidea Eumastacoidea is a superfamily within the order Orthoptera, suborder Caelifera. The family has a mainly tropical distribution and have sometimes been called "monkey grasshoppers". Description Some of the characters of the members of the superfa ...

. They have exceptionally stubby antennae even for the

Caelifera The Caelifera are a suborder of orthopteran insects. They include the grasshoppers and grasshopper-like insects, as well as other superfamilies classified with them: the ground-hoppers (Tetrigoidea) and pygmy mole crickets (Tridactyloidea). ...

, with most species have a characteristic "horse-headed" look in profile. The family occurs in Africa, most members living in small trees and shrubs rather than

forb A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...

s or grasses. The

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...

is '' Thericles'' Stål, 1875. They are obscure insects, not well known to the public, but nonetheless have a few common names, including "monkey grasshoppers", whether because of the head shape, or because they are very agile in leaping about among the twigs of the trees they inhabit, is not clear. They also are called "bush hoppers", a name they share with the closely related

Euschmidtiidae Euschmidtiidae is a family of grasshoppers in the order Orthoptera. There are at least 60 genera and more than 240 described species in Euschmidtiidae, found in Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and region ...

Subfamilies and selected Genera

* Afromastacinae Descamps, 1977 ** '' Afromastax'' Descamps, 1977 ** '' Clerithes'' Bolívar, 1914 * Barythericleinae Descamps, 1977 (monotypic) ** '' Barythericles'' Descamps, 1977 * Chromothericleinae Descamps, 1977 ** ''

Acanthothericles ''Acanthothericles'' is a genus of thericleid orthopteran. It includes the following species: * '' Acanthothericles bicoloripes'' Descamps, 1977 — Morogoro pretty grasshopper * '' Acanthothericles rubriventris'' Descamps, 1977 Both species a ...

'' Descamps, 1977 ** '' Chromothericles'' Descamps, 1977 ** '' Dimorphothericles'' Descamps, 1977 * Loxicephalinae Descamps, 1977 (monotypic) ** '' Loxicephala'' Descamps, 1977 * Plagiotriptinae Bolívar, 1914 ** '' Phaulotypus'' Burr, 1899 ** ''

Plagiotriptus ''Plagiotriptus'' is a genus of thericleid orthoptera Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The ord ...

'' Karsch, 1889 ** ''

Socotrella (insect) ''Socotrella'' is a monotypic genus of plant in family Apocynaceae. It contains the single species ''Socotrella dolichocnema'', which is endemic to Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the ...

'' Popov, 1957 * Thericleinae Burr, 1899 ** '' Lophothericles'' Descamps, 1977 ** '' Thericles'' Stål, 1875 *

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

** '' Smilethericles'' Baccetti, 1997

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3523810 Orthoptera families Caelifera