Pyrgomorphidae
family of insects
Pyrgomorphidae is a family of grasshoppers in the order Orthoptera; it is the only family in the superfamily Pyrgomorphoidea. Pyrgomorphidae are found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate regions (though none are from US mainland), but the vast majority of the family's approximately 500 species are from Africa, Asia and Australia. Their name is probably derived from pyrgos (Greek: Πύργος) meaning "tower": a reference to the form (morph) of the head in the type genus Pyrgomorpha and other genera.
They may sometimes be known as "gaudy grasshoppers", due to the striking, bright aposematic colouration of a number of genera, warning of their toxicity. However, about 90% of the species in the family are harmless and well-camouflaged, with a few, notably Sphenarium, even caught for human consumption.
Subfamilies and tribes
Incomplete list of genera and species:
Subfamily Orthacridinae
All tribes and selected genera only are shown here:
Tribe Brunniellini Kevan, 1963 - Philippines
Tribe Chapmanacridini Kevan & Akbar, 1964 - W. Africa
Tribe Fijipyrgini Kevan, 1966 - Fiji
Tribe Geloiini Bolívar, 1905 - Madagascar
Tribe Gymnohippini Kevan & Akbar, 1964 - Madagascar
Tribe Ichthiacridini Kevan, Singh & Akbar, 1964 - Mexico
Tribe Ichthyotettigini Kevan, Singh & Akbar, 1964 - Mexico
Tribe Malagasphenini Kevan & Akbar, 1964 - Madagascar
Tribe Mitricephalini Kevan & Akbar, 1964 - Malesia
Tribe Nereniini Kevan, 1964 - Vietnam, PNG
Genus Nerenia: Nerenia francoisi Bolívar, 1905 (monotypic)
Genus Megradina: Megradina festiva Storozhenko, 2004 (monotypic)
Tribe Orthacridini Bolívar, 1905 - E. Africa, Madagascar, India, Indo-China
Genus Kuantania Miller, 1935
Genus Neorthacris Kevan & Singh, 1964
Genus Orthacris Bolívar, 1884
Tribe Popoviini Kevan & Akbar, 1964 - E. Africa to India
Genus Popovia Uvarov, 1952
Tribe Psednurini Burr, 1904 - Australia
Tribe Sagittacridini Descamps & Wintrebert, 1966 - Madagascar
Tribe Verduliini Kevan & Akbar, 1964 - Philippines to PNG
Subfamily Pyrgomorphinae
Some notable genera and species are shown here:
Tribe Atractomorphini - Africa, Asia, Australia
Genus Atractomorpha
Tribe Chlorizeinini Kevan & Akbar, 1964 - Africa, Asia
Genus Chlorizeina Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1893
Tribe Chrotogonini Bolívar, 1904 - Africa, Asia
Tribe Desmopterini - W. Africa, Asia, Australia
Genus Desmoptera: including Desmoptera truncatipennis
Tribe Dictyophorini - Africa
Genus Dictyophorus: including Dictyophorus spumans
Tribe Monistriini - Australia
Genus Monistria: including Monistria cicatricosa and Monistria pustulifera
Tribe Omurini Kevan, 1961 - South America
Tribe Petasidini - Australia
Genus Petasida: including Petasida ephippigera (Leichhardt's grasshopper)
Tribe Phymateini - Africa (incl.
“Pyrgomorphidae” enters the record as family of insects. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Pyrgomorphidae, family and insects can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Pyrgomorphidae” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Pyrgomorphidae, family and insects provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1297956. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1963, 1964, 1966 and 1905.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pyrgomorphidae” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.