Hagloidea

Definition

A superfamily of ensiferan orthopteran insects currently represented by the single extant family Prophalangopsidae and numerous extinct families. In its broader circumscription, Hagloidea has been proposed as a paraphyletic assemblage ancestral to the remainder of Tettigoniidea, suggesting that katydids and related families may have emerged from within the hagloid lineage rather than representing its sister group.

Etymology

From Haglidae, an extinct family named after the genus Hagla, with the superfamily suffix -oidea.

Example

The relict prophalangopsid Cyphoderris monstrosa, a living representative of Hagloidea, retains plesiomorphic traits such as reduced stridulatory forewings that contrast with the elaborate sound-producing apparatus of derived tettigonioids.

Related Terms

• Prophalangopsidae
• Ensifera
• Tettigoniidea
• Orthoptera
• paraphyly
• plesiomorphic

Usage Notes

The taxonomic boundaries of Hagloidea remain unstable; some phylogenetic analyses recover the group as paraphyletic, implying that traditional Tettigoniidea (katydids, crickets, and allies) are nested within it. Specialists should note whether authors use Hagloidea in a strict sense (monophyletic, excluding tettigonioids) or broad sense (paraphyletic, ancestral to tettigonioids). The superfamily is of particular interest in studies of ensiferan evolution and the origins of acoustic communication in Orthoptera.