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Genus Achurum

Mr. Twig - Achurum carinatum - male Slant Face Grasshopper? - Achurum carinatum - female Toothpick or Vegetable Grasshopper? - Achurum carinatum - female 1224C01 - Achurum sumichrasti - male Grasshopper? - Achurum carinatum Arizona Toothpick - Achurum sumichrasti - male Achurum minimipenne - female Achurum minimipenne - male
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids)
Suborder Caelifera (Grasshoppers)
Family Acrididae (Short-horned Grasshoppers)
Subfamily Gomphocerinae (Slant-faced Grasshoppers)
No Taxon (Achurum Group - Spine-knee Toothpick Grasshoppers)
Genus Achurum
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Achurum Saussure, 1861. Type species: Truxalis sumichrasti Saussure
Tryxalis [sensu C. Thomas, 1873]
Radinotatum McNeill, 1897. Type species: Tryxalis brevipenne Thomas, C. (= Achurum carinatum (Walker) Jago)
Explanation of Names
Tryxalis [sensu C. Thomas, 1873] was not a description of a new genus as usually stated; rather "Tryxalis" was equated by Thomas to Acrida Linnaeaus; Truxalis Fabricius; Troxallis d.W. Fischer; and, was written as "Tryxalis, Charp." [implying previous authorship]. Thomas' usage was from the original description of Tryxalis brevippenis C. Thomas (= Achurum carinatum (Walker) Jago). In 'Synopsis of the Acrididae - Descriptions of the Genera and Species Found in the United States, Arranged in the Descending Order Proposed in the Preceding Introduction' in Hayden [Ed.], 1873. Zoology and Botany. Rep. U.S. Geol. Surv. Territ. 5:57.
The spellings "Truxalis" and "Tryxalis" (among others) were once both used almost interchangeably, but the first is the correct. Truxalis was the genus to which many of our "Toothpick Grasshoppers" and other more slender Slant-faced species were initially assigned, but in current usage it is strictly an Old World genus, not closely related to Achurum, nor to any other North American genus.
Numbers
Nearctica.com lists three North American species.
Identification
Some tips for differentiating this from other "toothpick" grasshopper genera North of Mexico (David Ferguson, in comments here):
"knee" of hind femur in Achurum with distinctive points that stick backward
eyes of Achurum not striped prominently
face of Achurum concave
in Achurum, no projection on the prosternum between the base of the front legs
tegmina (front wings), when long, narrowly rounded (nearly pointed) at tip - not clipped off at an angle.
Remarks
Achurum seems not particularly closely related to other genera included in the Gomphocerinae, and even though it has the stridulatory file on the hind femur that is typical of this subfamily, it is probably much more closely related to the genus Metaleptea and it's relatives (see comments under subfamily Acridinae). However, Achurum is most easily confused with other toothpick grasshoppers in the Gomphocerinae as well as the Leptysminae.
See Also