''Phymateus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of fairly large

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

s of the family

Pyrgomorphidae Pyrgomorphidae is a family of grasshoppers in the order Orthoptera; it is the only family in the superfamily Pyrgomorphoidea. Pyrgomorphidae are found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate regions (though none are from US mainland), but the va ...

, native to shrubland, semi-deserts, savanna, woodland, gardens and cultivated areas in

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

, with ten species in the African mainland and two species in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. Some species have bright

aposematic Aposematism is the Advertising in biology, advertising by an animal, whether terrestrial or marine, to potential predation, predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defenses which make the pr ...

colours and are highly toxic.

Description

''Phymateus'' are African grasshoppers that typically are about long as adults, with females generally being larger than males of the same species. Some species at maturity are capable of long migratory flights. They raise and rustle wings when disturbed and may secrete a noxious fluid from the thoracic joint.''Field Guide to Insects'' - Picker, Griffiths & Weaving (2004) Their toxins, which are accumulated from the toxic plants they feed on, can be very strong and there have been reported deaths in birds and mammals, including humans, after eating ''Phymateus'' grasshoppers. While they do show a preference for feeding on certain toxic plants, notably ''

Asclepias ''Asclepias'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged. Most species are toxic to huma ...

'' milkweeds, they will feed on a wide range of plants, and are sometimes regarded as

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

because of the damage they may cause to agricultural crops. They may congregate in large numbers on trees and shrubs, in some species arranged in such a way as to resemble foliage. Other species have bright aposematic warning colours. Although adults of both sexes are fully winged, in at least ''P. morbillosus'' the females, which are longer and considerably heavier than males, are unable to fly.

List of species

The ''Orthoptera Species File'' lists:Orthoptera Species File: Genus ''Phymateus''
/ref> ;subgenus ''Maphyteus'' Bolívar, 1904 # '' Phymateus baccatus'' Stål, 1876 # ''

Phymateus leprosus ''Phymateus'' is a genus of fairly large grasshoppers of the family Pyrgomorphidae, native to shrubland, semi-deserts, savanna, woodland, gardens and cultivated areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, with ten species in the African mainland and two species ...

'' (

Fabricius Fabricius (, ) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *people from the Ancient Roman Fabricia gens, gens Fabricia: **Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, the first of the Fabricii to move to Rome * Johann Goldsmid (1587–1616), known by his ...

, 1793) ;subgenus ''Phymateus'' Thunberg, 1815 # '' Phymateus aegrotus'' (Gerstaecker, 1869) # ''

Phymateus bolivari ''Phymateus'' is a genus of fairly large grasshoppers of the family Pyrgomorphidae, native to shrubland, semi-deserts, savanna, woodland, gardens and cultivated areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, with ten species in the African mainland and two species ...

'' Kirby, 1910 # ''

Phymateus cinctus ''Phymateus'' is a genus of fairly large grasshoppers of the family Pyrgomorphidae, native to shrubland, semi-deserts, savanna, woodland, gardens and cultivated areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, with ten species in the African mainland and two species ...

'' (Fabricius, 1793)
synonyms: ''P. stolli'' (Saussure, 1861) = ''P. flavus'' (I. Bolivar, 1903) = ''P. squarrosus'' ( Houttuyn, 1813) # '' Phymateus iris'' Bolívar, 1882 # ''

Phymateus karschi ''Phymateus karschi'' is a locust in the family Pyrgomorphidae.Eades, D.C.; D. Otte; M.M. Cigliano & H. BrauOrthoptera Species File/ref> Distribution This species is present in Tropical Africa (mainly in Cameroon, Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania, ...

'' Bolívar, 1904 # ''

Phymateus madagassus ''Phymateus'' is a genus of fairly large grasshoppers of the family Pyrgomorphidae, native to shrubland, semi-deserts, savanna, woodland, gardens and cultivated areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, with ten species in the African mainland and two species ...

'' Karsch, 1888 # ''

Phymateus morbillosus ''Phymateus'' is a genus of fairly large grasshoppers of the family Pyrgomorphidae, native to shrubland, semi-deserts, savanna, woodland, gardens and cultivated areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, with ten species in the African mainland and two species ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1758) = type species (as ''Gryllus morbillosus'' L.) # ''

Phymateus pulcherrimus ''Phymateus'' is a genus of fairly large grasshoppers of the family Pyrgomorphidae, native to shrubland, semi-deserts, savanna, woodland, gardens and cultivated areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, with ten species in the African mainland and two species ...

'' ( I. Bolívar, 1904) # ''

Phymateus saxosus ''Phymateus'' is a genus of fairly large grasshoppers of the family Pyrgomorphidae, native to shrubland, semi-deserts, savanna, woodland, gardens and cultivated areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, with ten species in the African mainland and two species ...

'' ( Coquerel, 1862) # ''

Phymateus viridipes ''Phymateus viridipes'', also known as the green milkweed locust or African bush grasshopper, is an African locust in the family Pyrgomorphidae (gaudy grasshoppers). Body characteristics It is about long at maturity and capable of long migrat ...

'' Stål, 1873Biolib
/ref>

Gallery

File:Locust Phymateus baccatus, Namibia.jpg, ''Phymateus baccatus'', mating pair File:Phymateus cinctus male and female.jpg, ''Phymateus cinctus'' File:Phymateus leprosus ssp. leprosus Flipphi 1.jpg, ''Phymateus leprosus'' File:Phymateus saxosus-1516812523 (cropped).JPG, ''Phymateus saxosus'' (shown) and ''P. madagassus'' are from Madagascar; the remaining species are from the African mainland File:Phymateus viridipes, vlerke, De Wildt 4x4, b.jpg, ''Phymateus viridipes'' showing the bright wings typical of several species in the genus

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q7189450 Pyrgomorphidae Caelifera genera Taxa named by Carl Peter Thunberg