Giant cockroaches, or blaberids (family Blaberidae), are the second-largest cockroach family by number of species. Mostly distributed in warmer climates worldwide, this family is based on the American genus Blaberus, but much of the diversity is also found in Africa and Asia.
Description
They are the only ovoviviparous cockroach family. The ootheca is seen very briefly before being retracted into the body, where soon after the young nymphs hatch inside, the female gives live birth. The cerci are smaller compared to other families, and most of the time are covered by wings. They're mostly found in caves, rotting logs or buried under leaf litter. Many are often kept as pets or as feeder insects, such as Blaberus, Gromphadorhina or Macropanesthia.
Notable species
Notable species within this family include:
- Cape mountain cockroach – Aptera fusca
- Dwarf cave cockroach – Blaberus atropos (syn. Blaberus fusca)
- Death's head cockroach – Blaberus craniifer
- False death's head cockroach – Blaberus discoidalis
- Giant cave cockroach – Blaberus giganteus
- Dubia cockroach – Blaptica dubia
- Orange head cockroach – Eublaberus posticus
- Glowspot cockroach – Lucihormetica verrucosa
- Beetle cockroach – Diploptera punctata
- Chrome cockroach – Gyna caffrorum
- Cuban, or green banana cockroach – Panchlora nivea
- Halloween hissing cockroach – Elliptorhina javanica
- Wide-horned hissing cockroach – Gromphadorhina oblongonota
- Madagascar hissing cockroach – Gromphadorhina portentosa
- Speckled cockroach – Nauphoeta cinerea
- Surinam cockroach – Pycnoscelus surinamensis
- Australian wood cockroach – Panesthia spp. including P. cribrata
- Giant burrowing cockroach – Macropanesthia rhinoceros
- Emerald cockroach – Pseudoglomeris magnifica
Subfamilies and genera
The Cockroach Species File lists over 1260 species within 170 valid genera and 14 subfamilies.
Blaberinae
Auth.: Saussure, 1864; distribution: Americas
- Calolamprodinae Wang & Wang, 2023
- Calolamprodes Bey-Bienko, 1969 (India, China, Indochina)
- Diplopterinae
Distribution: SE Asia, Australia, N. America
- Diploptera Saussure, 1864
Epilamprinae
Auth.: Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865; distribution: Americas, Africa, SE Asia, Australia
Geoscapheinae
Distribution: Malesia, Australasia (not mainland Asia)
- Geoscapheus Tepper, 1893
- Macropanesthia Saussure, 1895
- Neogeoscapheus Roth, 1977
- Parapanesthia Roth, 1977
Gyninae
Distribution: Africa
Oxyhaloinae
Distribution: Africa – 3 tribes:
Panchlorinae
Distribution: Americas, Africa
Panesthiinae
Distribution: Madagascar, India, China, SE Asia through to Australia
- Paranauphoetinae Rehn, 1951
- Paranauphoeta Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865 (India, China, Indochina, Malesia, New Guinea)
Perisphaerinae
Auth.: Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865; distribution: Africa, SE Asia, Australia
Pycnoscelinae
Distribution: SE Asia & S. America
- Proscratea Burmeister, 1838 - S. America
- Pycnoscelus Scudder, 1862
- Stilpnoblatta Saussure & Zehntner, 1895
- Rhabdoblattellinae Wang & Wang, 2023
- Rhabdoblattella Anisyutkin, 1999 (China, Indochina)
Zetoborinae
Distribution: Central & S. America
Genera Incertae sedis
Taxonomy note
Among the genera of uncertain subfamily, Eustegasta, Isoniscus and Poeciloderrhis have been removed from subfamily Perisphaerinae.
References
External links
- Media related to Blaberidae at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Blaberidae at Wikispecies
- "Blaberinae". uniprot.org. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
