Gryllidae

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^[3]): 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.^[a] The type genus is Gryllus and the first use of the family name "Gryllidae" was by Francis Walker.^[4]

Gryllidae Temporal range: Early Cretaceous–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Female Gryllus campestris
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Orthoptera
Suborder:	Ensifera
Superfamily:	Grylloidea
Family:	Gryllidae Laicharting, 1781[1]
Synonyms[2]
Gryllides Laicharting, 1781 Mitratogryllus Furukawa, 1985 (nomen nudum) Paragryllidae Desutter-Grandcolas, 1987

They have a worldwide distribution (except Antarctica).^[2] The most familiar field crickets (Gryllinae) are characteristically robust brown or black insects;^[5] the largest members of the family are the 5 cm (2 in)-long bull crickets (Brachytrupes) which excavate burrows a metre or more deep.

1. Many taxa in the Ensifera may be called crickets sensu lato, including the Rhaphidophoridae – cave or camel crickets; Stenopelmatidae – Jerusalem or sand crickets; Mogoplistidae – scaly crickets; Gryllotalpidae – mole crickets; Anabrus – Mormon crickets; Myrmecophilidae – ant crickets; and Tettigoniidae – the bush crickets or katydids.

Subfamilies

The family is divided into these subfamily groups, subfamilies, and extinct genera (not placed within any subfamily):^[2]

• 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 Xie, Zheng & Liang, 2003
2. †Cratogryllus Martins-Neto, 1991 Crato Formation, Brazil, Aptian
3. Neogryllodes Otte, 1994
4. Rhabdotogryllus Chopard, 1954
5. †Sharovella Gorochov, 1985
6. Spinogryllus Vasanth, 1993
7. †Trichogryllus Chopard, 1936

• • 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^[6] 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^[7])
  • 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