Gryllidae Explained

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^[1]): taxa such as the tree crickets, spider-crickets and their allies, sword-tail crickets, wood or ground crickets and scaly crickets have been moved or elevated to family level. The type genus is Gryllus and the first use of the family name "Gryllidae" was by Francis Walker.^[2]

They have a worldwide distribution (except Antarctica). The most familiar field crickets (Gryllinae) are characteristically robust brown or black insects;^[3] the largest members of the family are the 5cm (02inches)-long bull crickets (Brachytrupes) which excavate burrows a metre or more deep.

Subfamilies

The family is divided into these subfamily groups, subfamilies, and extinct genera (not placed within any subfamily):^[4]

• Subfamily group Gryllinae Laicharting, 1781 – common or field crickets
  • Gryllinae Laicharting, 1781 (now includes Sclerogryllini Gorochov, 1985)
  • Gryllomiminae Gorochov, 1986 monotypic: Gryllomimus Chopard, 1936 (Africa)
  • Gryllomorphinae Saussure, 1877
  • †Gryllospeculinae Gorochov, 1985
    • †Araripegryllus Martins-Neto 1987 Crato Formation, Brazil, Aptian ?Weald Clay, United Kingdom, Hauterivian
    • †Brontogryllus Martins-Neto 1991 Crato Formation, Brazil, Aptian
    • †Gryllospeculum Gorochov 1985 Dzun-Bain Formation, Mongolia, Aptian
    • †Mongolospeculum Gorochov 1985 Dzun-Bain Formation, Mongolia, Aptian
    • †Proararipegryllus Gorochov & Coram, 2022
  • Gryllinae incertae sedis

1. Capillogryllus
2. †Cratogryllus Crato Formation, Brazil, Aptian
3. Neogryllodes
4. Rhabdotogryllus
5. †Sharovella
6. Spinogryllus
7. †Trichogryllus

• • Itarinae Shiraki, 1930
  • Landrevinae Gorochov, 1982
• Subfamily Eneopterinae Saussure, 1893 – bush crickets (American usage), not to be confused with the Tettigoniidae (katydids or bush crickets)
• Subfamily unplaced: most extinct
  • genus †Achetomorpha Gorochov, 2019 Bembridge Marls, United Kingdom, Priabonian
  • genus †Eneopterotrypus – monotypic Zeuner, 1937 Bembridge Marls, United Kingdom, Priabonian
  • genus †Fanzus – monotypic Zessin, 2019^[5] Fur Formation, Denmark, Ypresian
  • genus †Gryllidium Westwood, 1854
  • genus †Lithogryllites Cockerell, 1908 Florissant Formation, United States, Eocene
  • genus Menonia – monotypic M. cochinensis George, 1936 (tentative placement^[6])
  • genus †Nanaripegryllus – monotypic Martins-Neto, 2002 Crato Formation, Brazil, Aptian
  • genus †Pherodactylus – monotypic Poinar, Su & Brown, 2020, Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
  • genus †Proeneopterotrypus Gorochov, 2019 – monotypic †P. danicus (Rust, 1999) Fur Formation, Denmark, Ypresian

See also

• List of Orthopteroid genera containing species recorded in Europe

Notes and References

1. Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) A General Textbook of Entomology 9th Ed. Methuen 886 pp.
2. Walker F (1871) Catalogue of the Specimens of Dermaptera Saltatoria in the Collection of the British Museum Supplement: 98.
3. Book: Resh, Vincent H. . Cardé, Ring T. . Encyclopedia of Insects . 2009 . Academic Press . 978-0-08-092090-0 . 232–236.
4. Web site: Family Gryllidae (Laicharting, 1781) . Orthoptera Species File . 3 September 2020.
5. Virgo 22. Jahrgang, 2019: ZESSIN, W.: Neue Insekten aus dem Moler (Paläozän/Eozän) von Dänemark, Teil 4 (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Eumastacidae, Ensifera: Gryllidae; Odonata: Libellulidae: 56-63.
6. http://orthoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1126740 Orthoptera Species File: genus Menonia George, 1936