Ripipterygidae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Ordo: Orthoptera
Subordo: Caelifera
Infraordo: Tridactylidea
Superfamilia: Tridactyloidea

Familia: Ripipterygidae
Genera (2): Mirhipipteryx – Ripipteryx
Name

Ripipterygidae Ander, 1939

References

Heads, S.W. 2010: New Tridactyloidea in Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic (Orthoptera: Caelifera). Annales de la Société entomologique de France (n.s.) 46(1-2): 204–210. abstract and pdf Reference page.

Ripipterygidae is a family of insects in the order Orthoptera. Members of the family are commonly known as mud crickets.

Description
Ripipteryx sp. (possibly R. biolleyi), Cartago, Costa Rica

Ripipterygids are small, often dark-colored, cricket-like orthopterans, between 3 and 14 mm in length. They closely resemble the related tridactylids. Like tridactylids, they have greatly expanded hind femora, and have the ability to swim and jump from the surface of water. They can be distinguished from tridactylids by their uninflated tibiae on the middle pair of legs, unsegmented cerci, rows of comblike teeth on the epiproct, and setae at the tips of the cerciform lobes on the paraproct, as well as through characters of the genitalia.[1]

Species in the genus Ripipteryx are typically black or dark brown and often metallic; many are boldly colored or strikingly patterned, with sharply contrasting white, yellow, and/or red markings.[2] Members of the genus Mirhipipteryx are typically smaller and more drably colored.[1]
Distribution and habitat
Ripipteryx limbata, Cartago, Costa Rica

Ripipterygids are restricted to the Neotropics. They can be found from southern Mexico south to central South America. Like tridactylids, they are typically found in riparian areas, on bare soil, sand, and mud, as well as on rocks, and – in some species – low vegetation in, near, or above water.[3][4] In at least some species, individuals are not distributed evenly throughout appropriate habitat, but rather are found in groups.[4]
Biology

Ripipterygids have been comparatively little-studied, and many aspects of their biology are poorly known, with behavioral observations having only been made on a handful of species.[5]
Locomotion

Like tridactylids, ripipterygids walk quadrupedally using only their first two pairs of legs, and the hind legs are only used for jumping and swimming. Ripipterygids fly when disturbed, often landing on water and swimming back to shore.[4]
Diet and foraging

Ripipterygids are herbivorous, and have been recorded feeding on a variety of different plants, as well as foraging on the ground.[6][4][7] Foraging ripipterygids may leave networks of shallow tracks in sandy or muddy soil near waterways.[4]
Burrowing

At least some ripipterygids build short burrows or oval-shaped cells in clay soil or sand, on both flat ground and in vertical banks.[3][4][8] These burrows are used for temporary shelter, and may also be used for protection while molting.[4]
Daily activity pattern

Species vary in their activity patterns; some are most active during dawn and dusk, and others are active throughout the day even in direct sunlight.[3][8] One species studied was nocturnal.[3]
Breeding

In Ripipteryx notata in Uruguay (near the southern limit of the family's geographic distribution), females oviposit eggs singly in bare soil in spring and summer. Nymphs are present in summer and early autumn (whereas adults are present year-round).[6][4] Unlike in grasshoppers, embryonic molt has not been observed to occur in ripipterygids.[6]
Predation

Fish have been recorded preying on swimming ripipterygids.[4]
Taxonomy and evolution

Ripipterygids, tridactylids, and sandgropers comprise the superfamily Tridactyloidea within the suborder Caelifera (grasshoppers and relatives). The tridactyloids are sister to the remainder of Caelifera. Within Tridactyloidea, ripipterygids are sister to tridactylids; the two families are estimated to have diverged between 150 and 175 million years ago.[9]

Ripipterygids were initially included in the family Tridactylidae. They were first elevated to family rank (as Rhipipterygidae) in 1939.[10] The classification of the family was extensively revised in a series of works by Kurt Günther between the 1960s and 1990s.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][8] However, the taxonomic diversity of the family, particularly in Central America, is still incompletely known.[18][5]

Two extant genera of ripipterygids are recognized: Mirhipipteryx and Ripipteryx. Since the 1960s, the genus Ripipteryx has been divided into five species groups, based primarily on characters of the male genitalia. However, there is evidence that these groups are not monophyletic.[2][19][20] In addition, Ripipteryx itself may be paraphyletic with respect to Mirhipipteryx, suggesting additional taxonomic revision of the family is required.[19]

Both Mirhipipteryx and Ripipteryx have representatives distributed throughout the geographic distribution of the family, as do all of the Ripipteryx species groups apart from the Scrofulosa group, the members of which are all restricted to Central America.[3]
List of species

The following recent genera, species and subspecies of Ripipterygidae are recognized by OSF:[10]

Mirhipipteryx Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx acuminata Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx andensis Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx biloba (Hebard, 1928)
M. b. aberrans Günther, 1989
M. b. biloba (Hebard, 1928)
M. b. chiriquensis Günther, 1969
M. b. incurvata Günther, 1989
M. b. riofriensis Günther, 1969
M. b. sevillensis Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx columbiana (Günther, 1963)
M. c. columbiana (Günther, 1963)
M. c. tenaensis Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx disparilobata Günther, 1989
Mirhipipteryx hebardi (Chopard, 1931)
Mirhipipteryx hondurica Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx hubbelli Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx imperfecta Günther, 1989
Mirhipipteryx lilo Günther, 1969
M. lil. granchacensis Günther, 1977
M. lil. lilo Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx lineata Günther, 1989
M. lin. anchicayensis Günther, 1994
M. lin. lineata Günther, 1989
Mirhipipteryx lucieni Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx magdalenensis Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx panamica Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx peruviana (Saussure, 1896)
Mirhipipteryx phallica Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx pronotopunctata Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx pulicaria (Saussure, 1896)
M. pu. interposita Günther, 1969
M. pu. pulicaria (Saussure, 1896)
Mirhipipteryx schuchmanni Günther, 1994
Mirhipipteryx striatipes (Chopard, 1954)
Mirhipipteryx triangulata Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx unispinosa Günther, 1989
Mirhipipteryx variabilis Günther, 1969
Mirhipipteryx venezuelensis Günther, 1976
Ripipteryx Newman, 1834
Limbata-Marginata group
Ripipteryx boliviana Bruner, 1916
Ripipteryx cruciata Bruner, 1916
Ripipteryx cyanipennis Saussure, 1874
Ripipteryx furcata Günther, 1976
Ripipteryx hydrodroma Saussure, 1896
Ripipteryx lawrencei Günther, 1969
Ripipteryx limbata (Burmeister, 1838)
Ripipteryx marginata Newman, 1834
Ripipteryx notata (Burmeister, 1838)
Ripipteryx ornata Chopard, 1927
Ripipteryx rivularia Saussure, 1896
Ripipteryx saopauliensis Günther, 1969
Ripipteryx trilobata Saussure, 1874
Ripipteryx trimaculata Günther, 1969
Crassicornis group
Ripipteryx antennata Hebard, 1924
Ripipteryx atra Serville, 1838
Ripipteryx capotensis Günther, 1970
Ripipteryx crassicornis Günther, 1969
Ripipteryx gorgonaensis Baena-Bejarano & Heads, 2015
Ripipteryx laticornis Günther, 1963
Ripipteryx nodicornis Hebard, 1924
Forceps group
Ripipteryx carbonaria Saussure, 1896
Ripipteryx diegoi Baena-Bejarano, 2015
Ripipteryx ecuadoriensis Günther, 1962
Ripipteryx forceps Saussure, 1896
Ripipteryx nigra Günther, 1963
Ripipteryx paraprocessata Günther, 1989
Ripipteryx pasochoensis Heads, 2010
Ripipteryx processata Günther, 1969
Marginipennis group
Ripipteryx amazonica Günther, 1969
Ripipteryx brasiliensis Günther, 1969
Ripipteryx bruneri Chopard, 1920
Ripipteryx difformipes Chopard, 1956
Ripipteryx femorata Chopard, 1956
Ripipteryx guacharoensis Baena-Bejarano & Heads, 2015
Ripipteryx insignis Chopard, 1937
Ripipteryx luteicornis Chopard, 1920
Ripipteryx marginipennis Bruner, 1916
Ripipteryx sturmi Günther, 1963
Ripipteryx vicina Chopard, 1956
Scrofulosa group
Ripipteryx biolleyi Saussure, 1896
Ripipteryx mediolineata Günther, 1969
Ripipteryx mexicana Saussure, 1859
Ripipteryx mopana Heads & Taylor, 2012
Ripipteryx saltator Saussure, 1896
Ripipteryx saussurei Günther, 1969
Ripipteryx scrofulosa Saussure, 1896
Ripipteryx tricolor Saussure, 1896

In addition, two fossil species have been described, both based on individuals preserved in amber in regions of the world where the family no longer occurs: Mirhipipteryx antillarum Heads, 2010 (from early Miocene amber from Hispaniola[1]), and Archaicaripipteryx rotunda Xu, Zhang, Jarzembowski & Fang, 2020 (from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber[21]).
References

Heads, Sam W. (2010). "New Tridactyloidea in Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic (Orthoptera: Caelifera)". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. N.S. 46 (1–2): 204–210. doi:10.1080/00379271.2010.10697659. ISSN 0037-9271. S2CID 84322530.
Heads, Sam W. (2010). "A new species of Ripipteryx from the Ecuadorian Andes (Orthoptera: Tridactyloidea: Ripipterygidae)". Zootaxa. 2476: 23–29. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2476.1.3.
Baena-Bejarano, Nathalie J. (2014). "Aspects of the natural history of Ripipteryx (Orthoptera: Ripipterygidae) species in Colombia". Journal of Insect Behavior. 28 (1): 44–54. doi:10.1007/s10905-014-9479-8. ISSN 0892-7553. S2CID 17859291.
Amaral de Gambardella, Loreley (1978). "Bioecología de Rhipiteryx notata Burmeister y su distribución geográfica en el Uruguay (Orthoptera, Tridactyloidea)". Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina (in Spanish). 37 (1–4). ISSN 1851-7471.
Heads, Sam W.; Taylor, Steven J. (2012). "A new species of Ripipteryx from Belize with a key to the species of the Scrofulosa Group (Orthoptera, Ripipterygidae)". ZooKeys (169): 1–8. doi:10.3897/zookeys.169.2531. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 3278811. PMID 22371682.
Amaral de Gambardella, Loreley (1971). "Oviposición y eclosión de Rhipipteryx notata Burm. 1838.—(Orthoptera: Tridactyloidea, Rhipipterygidae)". Revista Peruana de Entomología. Anales del Primer Congreso Latinoamericano de Entomología (in Spanish and English). 14 (2): 282–285.
Maes, Jean-Michel (1989). "Catálogo de los Tetrigidae, Rhipipterygidae y Tridactylidae (Orthoptera) de Nicaragua" (PDF). Revista Nicaraguense de Entomología (in Spanish and English). 6: 49–54.
Günther, Kurt K. (1994). "Die Tridactyloidea-Fauna Kolumbiens (Orthoptera, Caelifera)". Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift (in German). 41 (1): 1–56. doi:10.1002/mmnd.19940410102.
Song, Hojun; Amédégnato, Christiane; Cigliano, María Marta; Desutter-Grandcolas, Laure; Heads, Sam W.; Huang, Yuan; Otte, Daniel; Whiting, Michael F. (2015). "300 million years of diversification: elucidating the patterns of orthopteran evolution based on comprehensive taxon and gene sampling". Cladistics. 31 (6): 621–651. doi:10.1111/cla.12116. ISSN 0748-3007. S2CID 53702892.
"family Ripipterygidae Ander, 1939". Orthoptera Species File. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
Günther, Kurt (1962). "Eine neue Rhipipteryx-Art aus Ecuador (Orthoptera, Tridactylidae)". Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift (in German). 9 (3–4): 251–255. doi:10.1002/mmnd.19620090306.
Günther, Kurt K. (1963). "Über eine Tridactyliden-Ausbeute aus Kolumbien. (Orthoptera)". Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. Zoologisches Museum und Institut für Spezielle Zoologie (Berlin) (in German). 39 (1): 187–201. doi:10.1002/mmnz.19630390104.
Günther, Kurt K. (1969). "Revision der Familie Rhipipterygidae Chopard, 1949 (Saltatoria, Insecta)". Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. Zoologisches Museum und Institut für Spezielle Zoologie (Berlin) (in German). 45 (2): 259–425. doi:10.1002/mmnz.19690450209.
Günther, Kurt K. (1970). "Rhipipteryx capotensis n. sp., eine neue Art aus Kolumbien. (Rhipipterygidae, Saltatoria, Insecta)". Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift (in German). 17 (4–5): 353–356. doi:10.1002/mmnd.19700170406.
Günther, Kurt K. (1976). "Beiträge zur Systematik und Geographischen Verbreitung der Rhipipterygiden (Rhipipterygidae, Tridactyloidea, Saltatoria), Nr. 1". Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. Zoologisches Museum und Institut für Spezielle Zoologie (Berlin) (in German). 52 (2): 357–369. doi:10.1002/mmnz.19760520208.
Günther, Kurt K. (1980). "Katalog der Caelifera-Unterordnung Tridactylodea (Insecta)". Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift (in German). 27 (1–3): 149–178. doi:10.1002/mmnd.19800270114.
Günther, Kurt K. (1989). "Neue und wenig bekannte Tridactyloidea aus Mittel- und Südamerika (Orthoptera, Caelifera)". Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift (in German). 36 (4–5): 347–379. doi:10.1002/mmnd.19890360428.
Baena-Bejarano, Nathalie J.; Heads, Sam W.; Taylor, Steven J. (2018). "Comments on the neglected nymphs of mud crickets in the genus Mirhipipteryx (Caelifera: Tridactyloidea: Ripipterygidae)". Zootaxa. 4486 (2): 180–188. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4486.2.7. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 30313760.
Baena-Bejarano, Nathalie J. (2013). Relaciones filogenéticas de los géneros y grupos de especies de Ripipterygidae (Orthoptera: Tridactyloidea) basadas en morfología (M.Sc.) (in Spanish and English). Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
Baena-Bejarano, Nathalie J.; Heads, Sam W. (2015). "Three new species of the genus Ripipteryx from Colombia (Orthoptera, Ripipterygidae)". ZooKeys (502): 129–143. doi:10.3897/zookeys.502.8871. ISSN 1313-2989. PMC 4443593. PMID 26019667.
Xu, Chungpeng; Zhang, Haichun; Jarzembowski, Edmund A.; Fang, Yan (2020). "The first Ripipterygidae (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Tridactyloidea) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber". Cretaceous Research. 112: 104356. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104356. S2CID 212968349.