infraorder
Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...
of insects that describe the
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 (thus also
locust
Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstanc ...
s) and ground-hoppers. It contains a large majority of species in the suborder
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). ...
and the taxon Acridomorpha may also be used, which excludes the
Tetrigoidea
Tetrigidae is an ancient family in the order Orthoptera, which also includes similar families such as crickets, grasshoppers, and their allies. Species within the Tetrigidae are variously called groundhoppers, pygmy grasshoppers,Borror DJ, Trippl ...
.Encyclopedia of Life: Acridomorpha (Retrieved 20/7/2017) /ref> Both names are derived from older texts, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 886 pp. which placed the "short-horned grasshoppers" and locusts at the family level (
Acrididae
The AcrididaeMacLeay WS (1821) ''Horae Entomologicae or Essays on the Annulose Animals'' 2 are the predominant family of grasshoppers, comprising some 10,000 of the 11,000 species of the entire suborder Caelifera. The Acrididae are best known bec ...
). The study of grasshopper species is called acridology.
Acridomorpha
The ''Orthoptera Species File'' lists the following superfamilies: most families and species belong to the Acridoidea.
*
Acridoidea
Acridoidea is the largest superfamily of grasshoppers in the order Orthoptera with species found on every continent except Antarctica.
Classification
''Orthoptera Species File'' includes the following families:
*Acrididae MacLeay, 1821
* Derico ...
(MacLeay, 1821)
*
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 superf ...
Burr, 1899
**
Chorotypidae
Chorotypidae is a family of tropical Asian grasshoppers (order Orthoptera), formerly included within the family Eumastacidae. These grasshoppers have a head that rises above the level of the thorax and short antennae. Some species have reduced w ...
Eumastacidae
Eumastacidae are a family of grasshoppers sometimes known as monkey- or matchstick grasshoppers. They usually have thin legs that are held folded at right angles to the body, sometimes close to the horizontal plane. Many species are wingless and ...
Burr, 1899
**
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 and surrounding islands.
Genera
These 60 genera belong to the f ...
Pneumoroidea
The Pneumoridae are a family of nocturnal short-horned grasshoppers in the order Orthoptera, commonly known as the bladder grasshoppers and the sole representative of the superfamily Pneumoroidea. Their centre of diversity is in southern Africa, ...
Pyrgomorphoidea
Pyrgomorphidae is a family of grasshoppers in the order Orthoptera; it is the only family in the superfamily Pyrgomorphoidea, with a pan-tropical distribution. Their name is probably derived from ''pyrgos'' (Greek: ''Πύργος'') meaning "tow ...