Phymateus

Phymateus are African grasshoppers that typically are about {{cvt|4-8.5|cm}} long as adults, with females generally being larger than males of the same species. Some species at maturity are capable of long migratory flights. They raise and rustle wings when disturbed and may secrete a noxious fluid from the thoracic joint.Field Guide to Insects - Picker, Griffiths & Weaving (2004) Their toxins, which are accumulated from the toxic plants they feed on, can be very strong and there have been reported deaths in birds and mammals, including humans, after eating Phymateus grasshoppers.{{cite journal| last=Steyn | first=D.G. | year=1962 | title=Grasshopper (Phymateus leprosus Fabr.) poisoning in a Bantu child | journal=S.A. Medical Journal | volume=36 | pages=822–823 }} While they do show a preference for feeding on certain toxic plants, notably Asclepias milkweeds, they will feed on a wide range of plants, and are sometimes regarded as pests because of the damage they may cause to agricultural crops.{{cite journal| last1=Seibt | first1=U. | last2=Kasang | first2=G. | last3=Wickler | first3=W. | year=2000 | title=Suggested Pharmacophagy of the African Bushhopper Phymateus leprosus (Fabricius) (Pyrgomorphidae, Orthoptera) | journal=Z. Naturforsch. C | volume=55 | issue=5–6 | pages=442–448 | doi=10.1515/znc-2000-5-621 | doi-access=free | pmid=10928557 }} They may congregate in large numbers on trees and shrubs, in some species arranged in such a way as to resemble foliage. Other species have bright aposematic warning colours. Although adults of both sexes are fully winged, in at least P. morbillosus the females, which are longer and considerably heavier than males, are unable to fly.{{cite journal | last=Gäde | first=G. | year=2002 | title=Sexual dimorphism in the pyrgomorphid grasshopper Phymateus morbillosus: from wing morphometry and flight behaviour to flight physiology and endocrinology | journal=Physiological Entomology | volume=27 | issue=1 | pages=51–57 | doi=10.1046/j.1365-3032.2002.00268.x | s2cid=86444242 }}

The Orthoptera Species File lists:[https://orthoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=38853 Orthoptera Species File: Genus Phymateus]

;subgenus Maphyteus Bolívar, 1904

1. Phymateus baccatus Stål, 1876
2. Phymateus leprosus (Fabricius, 1793)

;subgenus Phymateus Thunberg, 1815

1. Phymateus aegrotus (Gerstaecker, 1869)
2. Phymateus bolivari Kirby, 1910
3. Phymateus cinctus (Fabricius, 1793)
   synonyms: P. stolli (Saussure, 1861) = P. flavus (I. Bolivar, 1903) = P. squarrosus (Houttuyn, 1813)
4. Phymateus iris Bolívar, 1882
5. Phymateus karschi Bolívar, 1904
6. Phymateus madagassus Karsch, 1888
7. Phymateus morbillosus (Linnaeus, 1758) = type species (as Gryllus morbillosus L.)
8. Phymateus pulcherrimus (I. Bolívar, 1904)
9. Phymateus saxosus (Coquerel, 1862)
10. Phymateus viridipes Stål, 1873[https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id165765/ Biolib]

File:Locust Phymateus baccatus, Namibia.jpg|Phymateus baccatus, mating pair

File:Phymateus cinctus male and female.jpg|Phymateus cinctus

File:Phymateus leprosus ssp. leprosus Flipphi 1.jpg|Phymateus leprosus

File:Phymateus saxosus-1516812523 (cropped).JPG|Phymateus saxosus (shown) and P. madagassus are from Madagascar; the remaining species are from the African mainland

File:Phymateus viridipes, vlerke, De Wildt 4x4, b.jpg|Phymateus viridipes showing the bright wings typical of several species in the genus

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Category:Pyrgomorphidae

Category:Caelifera genera

Category:Taxa named by Carl Peter Thunberg