Systematics of Tridactyloidea (Orthoptera: Caelifera): Taxonomic revision of extinct taxa with comments on extant taxa

Tridactyloidea (Orthoptera: Caelifera) is a superfamily that includes three families of minute (0.5 mm) to medium-size (9 cm) crickets. Tridactylidae, pygmy mole crickets, are globally distributed, whereas mud crickets in Ripipterygidae and sandgropers in Cylindrachetidae have Neotropical and Austral distributions, respectively. The taxonomy of this superfamily was reviewed between the 1960s and 1990s. However, the monophyly of families and other taxonomical subcategories have not been resolved. My goal was to provide a stable taxonomy for this group by developing robust phylogenetic hypotheses with a total evidence approach. Specifically, I aimed to produce a taxonomic revision of fossils and to develop a phylogenetic hypothesis of relationships within Tridactyloidea. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the superfamily Tridactyloidea. This includes general aspects of their morphology, biology, ecology, diversity, distribution, systematics, conservation, significance and applications. Chapter 2 includes the description of two new species from Colombia and the first record of the genus Dentridactylus (Tridactylidae) for Colombia. This is a rare genus with only four known species, which I have now expanded to six. In the chapter, keys for the identification of the species in the Americas are provided. Chapter 3 is a revision of the state of knowledge of immature stages in the genus Mirhipipteryx (Ripipterygidae). This revision highlights the gap of knowledge not only in the morphology of nymph, but also in their ecology. The chapter provides a comparison of adult and nymphal characters and additionally designates Mirhipipteryx lobata as a nomen nudum. Chapter 4 is a revision of fossil tridactyloids from the Crato Formation of Brazil. The Crato from Brazil is a Cretaceous formation of Aptian age. Orthopterans are abundant in the fossil record from the Crato Formation. However, only two tridactyloid species are known. Here I review eleven tridactyloid-like fossils and place them in a taxonomic category of the superfamily Tridactyloidea based on morphological comparisons. From these, four new genera and species are described, expanding the known diversity of the group. Chapter 5 is a revision of Burmese amber fossils. Orthopterans from this Cenomanian deposit are very rare, with only nine known species. I compared the morphology of five small tridactyloid-like fossils to the other known extinct and extant taxa. In this chapter descriptions of new species and a new family are provided. Chapter 6 describes the systematics of mud crickets, pygmy mole crickets and sandgropers. Here, I provide the first phylogeny for the superfamily Tridactyloidea. This was accomplished by combining a morphological dataset with a molecular dataset. The morphological matrix was revised from an existing matrix for the family Ripipterygidae by adding new taxa (extinct and extant) and codifying new characters into it. The morphological matrix was prepared with a few samples from the Genbank and with the addition of new sequences for a fragment of COI. The findings are generally consistent with many current classifications of the group, and inconsistencies are discussed. ; Limited ; Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system