A preliminary phylogeny of Pyrgomorphidae (Orthoptera: Caelifera) based on morphological characters

Commonly known as the gaudy grasshoppers, Pyrgomorphidae (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Acridomorpha) includes 477 species primarily distributed in the Old World but also in Mexico, Central and South America and Australia. Currently the family is divided into two subfamilies, Pyrgomorphinae and Orthacridinae, with a total of 31 tribes and 5 genera incertae sedis. Pyrgomorphidae includes some of the most colorful grasshoppers, often featured in ‘oh-my-collections,’ many of which are known to feed on toxic plants, and therefore displaying classic aposematism. Despite many interesting features of the family, there is no phylogenetic hypothesis available for Pyrgomorphidae. Although recent higher-level phylogenetic studies place the family as sister to the superfamily Acridoidea, the relationships within Pyrgomorphidae are poorly understood due to great morphological variations. In an ongoing effort to understand the evolution of this interesting family, we reconstruct a preliminary morphological phylogeny of Pyrgomorphidae based on 42 ingroup genera representing all the 18 pyrgomorphine tribes and 10 of the 13 orthacridine tribes. We test monophyly of previously suggested groups within the family and comment on interesting evolutionary trends evident from the phylogeny.