Amazonia
Guides
Batrachideinae
groundhoppers, pygmy grasshoppers
Batrachideinae is a taxonomically stable subfamily of pygmy grasshoppers (Tetrigidae) characterized by antennae with 18–22 segments, distinguishing them from other Tetrigidae which have fewer than 16. The subfamily comprises approximately 25 genera in three tribes with pantropical distribution across the Americas, Africa, tropical Asia, and Australia. It is particularly diverse in the Neotropical region, where the genus Scaria exhibits complex biogeographic patterns linked to Amazonian diversification and Andean uplift.
Ctenus
Tropical Wandering Spiders
Ctenus is a genus of wandering spiders in the family Ctenidae, first described by Walckenaer in 1805. It comprises approximately 155 species with a broad distribution spanning South America, Africa, and East Asia. Species in this genus are abundant in tropical rainforest leaf litter, where they serve as active predators and have become model organisms for studying predator ecology in ground-dwelling arthropod communities. Some species, particularly C. medius, possess venom with documented proteolytic, hyaluronidase, and phospholipase activities, with potential medical significance due to complement system interference.
Erodiscini
Erodiscini is a tribe of weevils within the subfamily Curculioninae (Curculionidae), containing semi-aquatic species such as Ludovix fasciatus. The tribe includes the genus Sicoderus, which is diverse in the West Indies with over 75 described species. At least some members exhibit specialized surface swimming behavior using all three pairs of legs in a coordinated breast stroke-like motion.