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Cyrtacanthacridinae

The Cyrtacanthacridinae are a subfamily of Orthoptera: Caelifera in the family Acrididae. They are sometimes referred-to as bird locusts, criquets voyageurs in French-speaking Africa, and Knarrschrecken in German.

Last revised
Aug 7, 2026
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≈ 2 min
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Source
Cyrtacanthacridinae
Desert locust
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Caelifera
Nanorder: Acridomorpha
Superfamily: Acridoidea
Family: Acrididae
Subfamily: Cyrtacanthacridinae
Kirby, 19021

The Cyrtacanthacridinae are a subfamily of Orthoptera: Caelifera in the family Acrididae. They are sometimes referred-to as bird locusts,2 criquets voyageurs in French-speaking Africa,3 and Knarrschrecken in German.

It includes species of locusts, short-horned grasshoppers that undergo phase polymorphism and are among the most important pests of sub-Saharan Africa;4 they include the desert locust and the red locust,3 with the related Bombay locust in Asia.5

One of the characteristics of members of this subfamily is the prominent peg between the forelegs: hence the name for the Australian Spur-throated locust.

Genera

The following genera have been included with a single tribe separated:26

Cyrtacanthacridini

Auth. Kirby, 1910; worldwide distribution (mostly tropical and sub-tropical)

  1. Anacridium Uvarov, 1923
  2. Chondracris Uvarov, 1923
  3. Cyrtacanthacris Walker, 1870
  4. Nomadacris Uvarov, 1923 - monotypic N. septemfaciata
  5. Ornithacris Uvarov, 1924
  6. Patanga Uvarov, 1923
  7. Proschistocerca (P. oligocaenica Zeuner, 1937)
  8. Rhadinacris Uvarov, 1923 - monotypic Rhadinacris schistocercoides (Brancsik, 1892) from Madagascar
  9. Schistocerca Stål, 1873
  10. Valanga Uvarov, 1923
  11. Willemsea Uvarov, 1923 - monotypic Willemsea bimaculata (Willemse, 1922) from New Guinea

tribe unassigned

  • Acanthacris Uvarov, 1923
  • Acridoderes Bolívar, 1889
  • Adramita Uvarov, 1936
  • Armatacris Yin, 1979
  • Austracris Uvarov, 1923
  • Bryophyma Uvarov, 1923
  • Caledonula Uvarov, 1939
  • Callichloracris Ramme, 1931
  • Congoa Bolívar, 1911
  • Cristacridium Willemse, 1932
  • Finotina Uvarov, 1923
  • Gowdeya Uvarov, 1923
  • Halmenus Scudder, 1893
  • Hebridea Willemse, 1926
  • Kinkalidia Sjöstedt, 1931
  • Kraussaria Uvarov, 1923
  • Mabacris Donskoff, 1986
  • Nichelius Bolívar, 1888
  • Ootua Uvarov, 1927
  • Ordinacris Dirsh, 1966
  • Orthacanthacris Karsch, 1896
  • Pachyacris Uvarov, 1923
  • Pachynotacris Uvarov, 1923
  • Parakinkalidia Donskoff, 1986
  • Parapachyacris Yin & Yin, 2008
  • Rhytidacris Uvarov, 1923
  • Ritchiella Mungai, 1992
  • Taiacris Donskoff, 1986
References

References

  1. Kirby WF (1902) List of Orthoptera from Uganda. The Uganda Protectorate, vol. 1, 467–468.
  2. Orthoptera species file: Cyrtacanthacridinae (retrieved 6 August 2019)
  3. Bellman, Heiko; Luquet, Gérard (2009). Le guide des sauterelles, grillons et criquets d'Europe occidentale (collection: Les guides du naturaliste). Paris: Delachaux and Niestlé. p. 383. ISBN 978-2-6030-1564-3.
  4. Song, Hojun; Wenzel, John W. (2008). "Phylogeny of bird-grasshopper subfamily Cyrtacanthacridinae (Orthoptera: Acrididae) and the evolution of locust phase polyphenism". Cladistics. 24 (4): 515–542. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2007.00190.x. PMID 34879633.
  5. Orthoptera Species File (accessed 20 June 2017)
  6. NCBI: Cyrtacanthacridinae (retrieved 6 August 2019)