Acridoidea
# Acridoidea

Acridoidea is the largest superfamily of grasshoppers in the order Orthoptera with species found on every continent except Antarctica.

## Classification

Orthoptera Species File includes the following families:

* Acrididae MacLeay, 1821
* Dericorythidae Jacobson & Bianchi, 1905
* Lathiceridae Dirsh, 1954
* Lentulidae Dirsh, 1956
* Lithidiidae Dirsh, 1961
* Ommexechidae Bolívar, 1884
* Pamphagidae Burmeister, 1840
* Pamphagodidae Bolívar, 1884
* Pyrgacrididae Kevan, 1974
* Romaleidae Pictet & Saussure, 1887
* Tristiridae Rehn, 1906

## Chromosomes

Among the families Acrididae, Ommexechidae and Romaleidae there is reported to be chromosomal stability with a high frequency of species harbouring diploid number (2n) of 23♂/24♀ chromosomes. In species of Acrididae and Romaleidae it is common to have acrocentric chromosomes with a fundamental number (FN), i.e. number of chromosome arms, of 23♂/24♀. However, chromosomal rearrangements are frequently found as deviations from the standard acrocentric karyotype. In the subfamily Ommexechinae most species show a unique karyotype (2n = 23♂/24♀, FN = 25♂/26♀) due to the occurrence of a large autosomal pair (L1) with submetacentric morphology. There is some support for 'Mesa's hypothesis' of an ancestral pericentric inversion in the ancestor of Ommexechinae to explain this karyotype variation.

