A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
allochronic speciation. Speciation in which the initial separation of populations is in time rather than space (compare allopatric speciation).
allopatric speciation. Speciation in which spatial isolation of populations precedes their differentiation (compare allochronic speciation).
allotype (adj. allotypic). A specimen of opposite sex to the holotype designated as representative of the species.
basitarsus.The basal (proximal) segment of the tarsus.
binomen. The two-word scientific name of a species, the first being the genus name and the second being the specific name. For example, Gryllus pennsylvanicus is a binomen.
carina. An elevated ridge or keel.
clypeus. The area of the head between the frons and the labrum.
dactyl. Tooth-like projections at the end of a mole cricket's enlarged, shovel–like forelegs. These features can sometimes be used to identify to species, such as the short-winged mole cricket and the tawny mole cricket, which have a similar general appearance but differently shaped dactyls.
dealated. Long hindwings shed at basal attachment. Dealated crickets may be confused with short-winged crickets because in neither case do the hindwings protrude beyond the forewings. However, dealated crickets were once long-winged and are not and never were short-winged. They have wing stumps rather than short hindwings. For more, see Walker 1972.
epicranial suture. A seam, shaped like an inverted-Y, that begins at the top of the head and branches toward the compound eyes.
epistomal suture. The suture between the frons and the clypeus.
femur (pl. femurs or femora). The most robust leg segment; the segment just proximal to the tibia.
foretibia (pl. foretibiae). The segment of the prothoracic leg between the femur and the tarsus.
forewing. A wing arising from the mesothorax, the middle thoracic segment. In Orthoptera, including crickets and katydids, the forewings are usually leathery and are often called tegmina (singular, tegmen).
frons. The area of the head below the arms of the epicranial suture and above the epistomal suture. It bears the median ocellus.
genus. A category of biological classification that ranks between the species and subfamily categories. A genus contains a group of closely related species or a single species that is well removed from other species.
harp. A harp-shaped, acoustically tuned area of each forewing of most male crickets. The stridulatory file is at the proximal extreme of the harp.
hierarchy (of taxonomic categories). The sequence of taxonomic categories ranked by level of inclusiveness. The categories used on this site, starting with the least inclusive, are subspecies, species, genus, subfamily, family, superfamily, and order.
holotype (adj. holotypic). The single specimen designated by the describer of a new species as the name-bearer for that species. (The holotype is intended to settle any disputes as to what species-level taxon the species name applies.)
instar. The stage of an insect between successive molts. The first instar is the stage between hatching and the first molt.
labrum. The upper lip, which is attached to the clypeus.
length. As used in descriptions of whole insects on this site, length was measured with dial calipers from the head of the specimen to the tips of the forewings (at rest) or to the tip of the abdomen, whichever was longest. In females, the measurement excluded the ovipositor but included the subgenital plate. In males, the measurement included any ventral or dorsal abdominal process. In false katydids (Phaneropterinae), the tips of the hindwings were included in the measurement, because they were the color and texture of the forewings and in the same plane.
long-winged. Having the hindwings longer than the forewings. At rest, the hindwings protrude beyond the forewings. Also termed macropterous. For more, see Walker and Sivinski 1986.
maxillary palp. One of a pair of feeler-like appendages that attach to the mouth parts that are immediately behind the mandibles.
mirror. A smooth, membranous, acoustically tuned area of each forewing of most male crickets. It is immediately distal to the harp.
monophyletic. Having a unique common ancestor. A monophyletic taxonomic group traces it origins to a single ancestral species and includes that species and all species descended from it. This contrasts with a paraphyletic group, which includes a common ancestor but not all of its descendents, and a polyphyletic group, which does not include the group's most recent common ancestor.
paratype. Any specimen, other than the holotype, that the describer of a new species designates (in the original description) as belonging to that species.
phonatome. See syllable.
prothorax (adj. prothoracic). The anterior of the three thoracic segments.
short-winged. Having the forewings longer than the hindwings. At rest, the forewings conceal the hindwings. Also termed micropterous. For more, see Walker and Sivinski 1986.
sister groups. Taxonomic groups that together form a monophyletic group.
sister species. Species derived from a common ancestral species shared by no other species.
specific name. The second name in a binomen.
spermatheca. A female organ that receives the sperm during copultion and stores it until the eggs are fertilized as she lays them.
spermatophore. A sperm-containing sac that the male passes to the female during copulation. In crickets and katydids the spermatophore is usually attached externally with the spermatophore tube inserted into the female genital opening to allow the sperm to pass from the bulb of the spermatophore into the female's spermatheca. In most crickets, the spermatophore is bare (e.g., tree crickets) but in most katydids it is surrounded by a large mass of gelatinous material known as a spermatophylax.
spermatophylax. A mass of gelatinous material that the male secretes around the spermatophore immediately after inserting the spermatophore tube into the female. The female consumes the spermatophylax as the spermtophore empties its contents into her spermatheca (e.g., false katydids). Ultimately the female consumes the emptied spermatophore.
syllable. The sound or sounds made during a cycle of stridulatory movement; also known as a phonatome. In crickets, a cycle of forewing movement during stridulation generally produces a single pulse of sound on the closing stroke and the opening stroke is silent (e.g., Oecanthus celerinictus). In katydids, syllables are generally more complex—sometimes much more so (e.g., Amblycorypha longinicta).
synonym. Each of two or more names of the same rank used to denote the same taxonomic group. For example, both borellii and acletus are specific names applied to the same species of mole cricket in the genus Scapteriscus. Scapteriscus borellii is the name now used, because it was applied first.
tarsus (pl. tarsi). The several-segmented insect foot, just distal to the tibia.
taxon (pl. taxa). A taxonomic group—that is, a group of individuals deserving of taxonomic status at some level in the hierarchy of taxonomic categories.
tegmen (pl. tegmina). A leathery forewing, as in Orthoptera.
teneral. Condition of recently molted individuals, when they are pale and soft-bodied.
tibia (pl. tibiae). The segment of the leg between the femur and the tarsus.
tympanun (pl. tympana). An eardrum; a membranous resonator of an insect ear.
type locality. The place where the name-bearing type (usually the holotype) of a species or subspecies was collected.