List of Orthoptera of Sri Lanka explained

Sri Lanka is a tropical island situated close to the southern tip of India. The invertebrate fauna is as large as it is common to other regions of the world. There are about 2 million species of arthropods found in the world, and still is counting.

The following list is about Orthopterans recorded in Sri Lanka.

Orthopterans

Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera

The Orthoptera order of insects includes the grasshoppers, crickets, cave crickets, Jerusalem crickets, katydids, wētā, lubber, Acrida, and locusts. More than 27,000 species are distributed worldwide.[1] Many insects in this order have paurometabolous or incomplete metamorphosis, and produce sound (known as a "stridulation") by rubbing their wings against each other or their legs, the wings or legs containing rows of corrugated bumps. The tympanum or ear is located in the front tibia in crickets, mole crickets, and katydids, and on the first abdominal segment in the grasshoppers and locusts. These organisms use vibrations to locate other individuals. There are two suborders and 235 subfamilies are in this order.

The following list provide the orthopterans currently identified in Sri Lanka. One of Sri Lanka's leading naturalist and expert on orthopterans, George Morrison Reid Henry, who was born in Sri Lanka, was appointed as Assistant in Systematic Entomology at Colombo National Museum from 1913-1946. He started much work on many micro arthropods including orthoptera as well. But the most comprehensive work confined to orthoptera was done by G. M. Henry, though no single monograph of Sri Lankan species is available. The world catalogues of Otte provide up-dated nomenclature and classification.[2] [3] In 2020, a new pygmy grasshopper was discovered from Sinharaja rainforest.[4]

According to Sandrasagara, (1949 to 1954); and Chopard, (1936), 350 species of orthopterans identified from Sri Lanka.[5] [6] [7] [8]

Endemic species are denoted as E.

Family: Tridactylidae - Pygmy mole crickets

Sub family: Gomphocerinae - Slant-faced grasshoppers

Sub family: Acridinae - Silent slant-faced grasshoppers

Sub family: Oedipodinae - Band-winged grasshoppers

Sub family: Cyrtacanthacridinae - Bird grasshoppers

Sub family: Catantopinae - Spur-throated grasshoppers

Family: Gryllacrididae - Leaf-rolling crickets

Family: Gryllidae - Crickets

Sub family:Gryllinae - Field crickets

Sub family:Nemobiinae - Ground crickets

Sub family:Trigoniinae

Sub family:Myrmecophilinae - Ant crickets

Sub family:Pentacentrinae - Anomalous crickets

Sub family:Oecanthinae - Tree crickets

Sub family:Itarinae

Sub family:Eneopterinae - Bush crickets

Sub family:Podoscirtinae

Family:Gryllotalpidae - Mole crickets

Family:Mogoplistidae - Scaly crickets

Family:Myrmecophilidae - Ant-loving crickets

Family:Tetrigidae - Pygmy locusts

Sub family:Scelimeninae

Family:Phalangopsidae

Sub family:Phalangopsinae - Spider crickets

Family:Podoscirtidae

Family:Pyrgomorphidae - Gaudy grasshoppers

Family:Stenopelmatidae - Jerusalem crickets

Family:Tettigoniidae - Katydids

Sub family:Conocephalinae - Meadow katydids

Sub family:Pseudophyllinae - True katydids

Sub family:Phaneropterinae - Phaneropterine katydids

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Orthoptera - Grasshoppers, Locusts, Crickets, Katydids -- Discover Life. www.discoverlife.org. 2016-02-23.
  2. HISTORY OF INSECT COLLECTION AND A REVIEW OF INSECT DIVERSITY IN SRI LANKA . Ceylon Journal of Science . Wijesekara, Anura . Wijesinghe, D.P . 59. 10.1.1.379.2411.
  3. Web site: Checklist of the Tridactylidae and Gryllidae (Insecta, Orthoptera) of Ceylon, with Records of Distribution . The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society . 6 June 2016.
  4. Web site: Cockscomb-shaped twighopper, Cladonotus bhaskari sp. n., a new and rare pygmy grasshopper species from Sri Lanka (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae: Cladonotinae) . Zootaxa 4821 (2): 333–342 . 6 June 2021.
  5. Book: The Fauna of Sri Lanka: Status of Taxonomy, Research, and Conservation . 23 January 2016 . Bambaradeniya, Channa N. B.. 9789558177518 . 2006 .
  6. Phalagopsidae crickets from indian region Grylloidea), with the descriptions of new taxa, diagnoses for genera, and a key to Indian genera . academia.edu . 6 June 2016 . Ranjana, Jaiswara.
  7. Studies on some Tetrigidae (Orthoptera) from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka . Tropical Zoology . 5 . 2 . 1 August 2012 . Wagana, M. S. . Kevana, D. K. McE. . 167–194. 10.1080/03946975.1992.10539191 .
  8. Web site: Checklist of Conocephalini (Meadow katydids) species in Sri Lanka . Insectoid.Info . 6 June 2016.

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