{{short description|Genus of grasshoppers}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = Grasshopper ST 10.jpg |image2 = Painted Grasshopper (Poekilocerus pictus) (29465023678).jpg |image2_caption =''Poekilocerus bufonius'' (above),<br /> ''Poekilocerus pictus'' (below) |display_parents = 2 |parent_authority = Burmeister, 1840 |taxon = Poekilocerus |authority = Serville, 1831<ref>Audinet-Serville JG (1831) ''Ann. Sci. nat.'' 22(86): 275.</ref> |synonyms = * ''Decticus'' Klug, 1832 * ''Paecilocerus'' Bordas, 1898 * ''Paekilocera'' Westwood, 1841 * ''Poecilocera'' Percheron, 1836 * ''Poecilocerus'' Schaum, 1853 * ''Poekilocera'' Percheron, 1838 }}
'''''Poekilocerus''''' is a genus of grasshoppers in the family Pyrgomorphidae and the monotypic tribe '''Poekilocerini'''. Species are found in the northern half of Africa, and in Southwest and South Asia, often in arid or semi-arid areas.<!-- speciesfile mistakenly list the genus, specifically P. bufonius, as occurring east to Indonesia, but this is because of its types from the locality "Ambukol" erroneously being listed as in Indonesia; "Ambukol" is actually in Sudan (see other refs too) --><ref name=OSF>[http://orthoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1120901 Orthoptera Species File: genus ''Poekilocerus'' Serville, 1831 (retrieved 12 August 2023)]</ref><ref>{{cite book| last=Johnston | first=H.B. | year=1956 | title=Annotated Catalogue of African Grasshoppers | publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref><ref name=Fishelson1960>{{cite journal| last=Fishelson | first=L. | year=1960 | title=The biology and behavior of Poekiloceros bufonius Klug, with special reference to the repellent gland (Orth. Acrididae) | journal=Eos (Madrid) | volume=36 | pages=41–62 }}</ref>
Adults are typically about {{cvt|3-7|cm}} long, with females generally larger than males of the same species.<ref name=Fishelson1960/><ref name=Whitman2008>{{cite journal| last1=Whitman | first1=D. | last2=Vincent | first2=S. | year=2008 | title=Large size as an antipredator defense in an insect | journal=Journal of Orthoptera Research | volume=17 | issue=2 | pages=353–371 | doi=10.1665/1082-6467-17.2.353 | doi-access=free }}</ref> The genus includes both highly toxic species with contrasting aposematic colours and species with duller colours suitable for camouflage.<ref name=Fishelson1960/><ref name=Whitman2008/>
==Species== The ''Orthoptera Species File'' lists the following:<ref name=OSF/> #''Poekilocerus arabicus'' <small>Uvarov, 1922</small> #''Poekilocerus bufonius'' <small>Klug, 1832</small> (3 subspecies) #''Poekilocerus calotropidis'' <small>Karsch, 1888</small> #''Poekilocerus geniplanus'' <small>Gupta & Chandra, 2016</small> #''Poekilocerus pictus'' <small>(Fabricius, 1775)</small> - '''type species''' (as ''Gryllus pictus'' Fabricius)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{cite web|title=Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist.|url=http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2011/search/all/key/poekilocerus/match/1|author=Roskov Y.|author2= Kunze T.|author3=Orrell T.|author4=Abucay L.|author5=Paglinawan L.|author6=Culham A.|author7=Bailly N.|author8=Kirk P.|author9=Bourgoin T.|author10=Baillargeon G.|author11=Decock W.|author12=De Wever A.|editor=Didžiulis V.|publisher=Species 2000: Reading, UK.|year=2011|accessdate=24 September 2012}} *{{Commons category-inline|Poekilocerus|''Poekilocerus''}} *{{Wikispecies-inline |Poekilocerus|''Poekilocerus''}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q10635693|from2=Q21226422}}
Category:Caelifera genera Category:Pyrgomorphidae