Acridoidea

Acridoidea is the largest superfamily of grasshoppers in the order Orthoptera with over 11,000 species found on every continent except Antarctica.

Classification

Orthoptera Species File includes the following families:

Acrididae MacLeay, 1821
Dericorythidae Jacobson & Bianchi, 1905
Lathiceridae Dirsh, 1954
Lentulidae Dirsh, 1956
Lithidiidae Dirsh, 1961
Ommexechidae Bolívar, 1884
Pamphagidae Burmeister, 1840
Pamphagodidae Bolívar, 1884
Pyrgacrididae Kevan, 1974
Romaleidae Pictet & Saussure, 1887
Tristiridae Rehn, 1906
Chromosomes

Among the families Acrididae, Ommexechidae and Romaleidae there is reported to be chromosomal stability with a high frequency of species harbouring diploid number of 23♂/24♀ chromosomes. In species of Acrididae and Romaleidae it is common to have acrocentric chromosomes with a fundamental number, i.e. number of chromosome arms, of 23♂/24♀. However, chromosomal rearrangements are frequently found as deviations from the standard acrocentric karyotype. In the subfamily Ommexechinae most species show a unique karyotype due to the occurrence of a large autosomal pair with submetacentric morphology. There is some support for 'Mesa's hypothesis' of an ancestral pericentric inversion in the ancestor of Ommexechinae to explain this karyotype variation.