Orthoptera Pyrgomorphidae: India
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Orthoptera Pyrgomorphidae
Introduction
The Pyrgomorphidae represents a distinctive family of acridoid grasshoppers, called ubushhoppers", the majority of which' are found in tropical and subtropical countries, chiefly of the Old world. The family name da~es back from the vernacular, Pyrgomorphiden Brunner von Wattenwyl (1874). The members of this group are very harmful to the crops and other vegetations. Species of Atractomorpha. Chrotogonus, Colemania and Poekilocerus are notorious pests. The family is divided into two subfamilies, Pyrgacridinae and Pyrgomorphinae. There are altogether 440 species distributed under 148 genera known from the world, of which 40 species under 19 genem are known from India.
Historical Resume
i) Pre-1900
The taxa included at present in Pyrgomorphidae were under "Familie Acridien" (Acridoidea), until Walker (1870) raised it as a "limited family", Phymat[e]idae. within the family Acrididae. StM (1873) completely revised the classification of the "familia Acridoidea" and introduced an entirely new and more extensive concept of the group, which he 'called "Subfamilia Phymatidae" Brunner von Wattenwyl (1874) split StAl's Phymat[e]idae into two: "Zunft der Pyrgomorphiden" and "Zunft der Phymat[e]iden" Bolivar (1884) in his monograph assumed that Brunner had changed the name of the family, because of the confusion between Phymat[e]idae (Orthoptera) and Phymatidae (Hemiptera), but it was Bolivar (1884) himself (not Brunner) who pointed out the apparent (but not real) homonymy. Bolivar (I.c.) ignored Brunner's division and followed StAI's arrangement using Pyrgomorphidae to include all genera.
For sometime the group was recognised as a tribe of the family Acridoidea. Later authors began to regard these insects as constituting the "subfamily Pyrgomorphinae" of the "family Acridiidae" or Acrididae (McNeill 1896, Brunner 1900, Rehn 1904, 1907 etc.). Brunner von Wattenwyl (1862, 1893 and 1898) studied the taxonomy of the group from Sri Lanka, Burma, Java and Malaya. Walker (1870, 1871) has prepared a Catalogue of genera and species known upto that period. StAt (1877) studied the genus Tagasta from Philippines. General observations on the zoogeography of the Pyrgomorphidae were published by Bolivar (1884). Bolivar (1898) studied the taxonomy of Indomalayan taxa. Barlow (1896) studied the Indian species exclusively, for the fIrst time.
ii) 1901-1947
Bolivar (1902, 1921), Maxwell-Lefroy &Howlett (1909-1910) and Fletcher (1914) reported the Pyrgomorphids of Indian region. Kirby (1910, 1914) prepared a Catalogue for Acrididae, including this group of the world, and a volume of 'Fauna of British India', including fauna of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Burma., Later Chopard (1924), Uvarov (1925, 1928 and 1929), Ramakrishna Ayyar (1940) have also worked on Indian species of Pyrgomorphidae.
iii) 1948-1990
Chapman & Robertson (1958), Phipps (1959-1970), Chapman (1961-1964), Ramsay (1964), Descamps and Wintr~bcrt (1966), Dirsh (1968), Jago (1968, 1973), Keven (1974, 1975) and Parihar (1971, 1972) have worked on biology, ecology and distribution of this group. Tandon &Khera (1978), Hazra et ale (1981), Mondal & Sbishodia (1982), Julka et ale (1982) Shishodia & Dey (1982) and Hazra et ale (1984) have worked in recent times on various aspects of ecology and distribution of Indian Pyrgomorphids. Shrinivasan (1988) has presented the zoogeography of S. Indian grasshoppers covering Pyrgomorphids.
Keven (1953-1970) has worked on taxonomy of Oriental taxa. Keven &Akbar (1964) revised some species. Sandrasagara (1950) has worked on the taxonomy of this group from Sri Lanka. Roonwal et ale (1951) and Bhasin &Roonwal (1954) have reported Indian species. Bhowmik (1964, 1984), Tandon &Shishodia (1969-1989), Singh &Keven (1976), Tandon et ale (1976), Bhowmik &Halder (1976, 1983), Usmani et ale (1985), Shishodia.& Hazra (1986) and Shrinivasan (1986) have worked on the taxonomy of various genera and species from different parts of Indian region. A biometric study of Poekilocerus pictus has been made by Varshney &Nahar (1980).
Classified Treatment
As there are not much differences in external morphology and phallic structure, many workers do not divide this family into subfamilies. Dirsh (1956) though tried to divide the group into tribes on the basis of phallic structures, but failed. Recently, Keven (1977) has divided this family into two subfamilies, Pyrgacridinae and Pyrgomorphinae. The Pyrgacridinae has one genus and two species only, which do not occur in India. The Pyrgomorphinae is divided into two, Orthacrides and Pyrgomorphides. The Orthacrides has several supertribcs, tribes, subtribes, and includes 54 genera and 149 species from the world, of which 6 genera and 18 species are found in India.
The Pyrgomorphides has been divided into several supertribes, tribes, sub tribes as well and includes 94 genera and 291 species from all over the world, of which 13 genera and 22 species are found in India. Thus, a total of 440 species under 148 genera have been recorded from the world, of which 19 genera and 40 species arc known from India.
Current Studies
No survey work has been done exclusively for the group from the Head Quarters of Zoological Survey of India. The group has been collected by different parties of ZSI, along with other orthopteran specimens from different environs. Singh &Keven (1965) have dealtwith the species of the subtribe Orthacridina, found in South India. Tandon &Shishodia (1989) have given a faunistic account of Acridoidea, including Pyrgomorphidac, of Orissa.
D. K. ~1cE. Keven is actively engaged on studying the taxonomy, ecology, distribution and zoogeogr~phy of the group. Asket Singh (retired from the Zoological Survey of India) with McE.Keven, is engaged in writing a volume of 'Fauna of India' on Pyrgomorphidae of Indian subcontinent. Identification and related studies are undertaken in the OrLhoptera Section at ZSI (H.O.) Calcutta and at its Canning Field Station.
Expertise India
In ZSI
H. K. Bhowmik, Sundarban Field Research Station, Z.S.I., P.O. Canning, South 24-Parganas (West Bengal). S. K. Tandon, A. K. Hazra, M. S. Shishodia, S .. K. MandaI and A. Dey, all of Z.S.I., M¬Block, New Alipur, Calcutta -700 053.
Elsewhere
Asket Singh, 176, Adarsh Nagar, lalandhar city 144008 (punjab). S. A. Shafee and M. K. Usmani, Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (U.P.). C. Shrinivasan, Department of Zoology, Guru Nanak College, Madras -600 032 (T.N.).
Abroad
D. K. McE. Keven, Lyman Entomological Museum and Research Laboratory, Macdonald Campus, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste Anne de Bellevue, Quebec (Canada) H9X ICO.
Selected References
Banerjee, S. K. &Keven, D. K. McE. 1960. A preliminary revision of the genus Atractomorpha Saussure, 1862 (Orthoptera: Acridoidea: Pyrgomorphidae). Treubia, 25: 165-189. Keven, D. K. McE. 1953. The Ceylonese species of Orthacris I. Bolivar, 1884 (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Pyrgomorphidae). Spolia zeylan., 27 : 17-34.
Keven, D. K. McE. 1959. A study of the genus Chrotogonus Audinet-Serville, 1839 (Orthoptera : Acridoidea : Pyrgomorphidae). V. A. revisional • monograph of the Chrotogonini. VI. The history and biogeography of the Chrotogonini. Publcoes cult. Co. Diam. Angola, 43 : 10-199, 201-246.
Keven, D. K. McE. 1966. A revision of the known Asiatic Shhenariini (Orthoptera : Acridoidea : Pyrgomorphidae) with the erection of a new genus. Can.Ent., 98 : 1275-1283. Keven, D. K. McE. 1970. Indian Pyrgomorphini other than Pyrgomorpha (Orthoptera : Acridoidea : Pyrogomorphidae). Rev. suisse Zool., 77 : 851-866.
Keven, D. K. McE. 1977. Ordo Orthoptera s. sIr. (=Saltatoria-Caelifera) Subordo Acridoidea Fam. Pyrgomorphidae. Orthop. Cat. 16 : iv + 653 + (7) pp.
Keven, D. K. McE. &Akbar, S. S. 1964. The Pyrgomorphidae (Orthoptera : Acridoidea) : their systematics, tribal divisions and distribution. Can.Ent, 96 : 1505-1536.
Keven, D. K. McE. & Chen, Y K. 1969. A •revised synopsis of the genus Atractomorpha Saussure, 1862 (Orthoptera : Pyrgomorphidae),.with an account of the African aberrans¬group. 2001 J. Linn. Soc .. 48 : 141-198.
Keven, D. K. McE., Akbar, S. S. and Chang, Y C. 1969. The concealed copulatory structures of the Pyrgomorphidae (Orth. Acridoidea) Part I. General Introduction. Eos, Madr. 44 : 165-266.
Singh, A. & Keven, D. K. McE. 1960. The genus Orthacris Bolivar, 1884, and its allies (Onhoptera: Acridoidea, Pyrgomorphidae). Trans. R. ent. Soc. Lond., 117 (13) : 367¬ 411.
