AsianScientist (Dec. 22, 2014) – Scientists from the Southwest University, China have found a new species and a new subspecies of cockroach. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.
Out of around 4,600 species worldwide, only 30 are the cockroaches associated with human habitats. Unlike the despised house-dwelling cockroaches, the representatives of the genus Panesthia to which the new species and subspecies belong, are distinctive for living in logs and xylophagy (feeding on wood).
Up to now, 55 species and nine subspecies have been reported in this genus but because of their secluded lifestyle, these cockroaches are still poorly understood by scientists and the study of this genus has been stagnant since 1999.
The new species, P. guizhouensis, was first collected from rotten wood near a large pool, far away from the cities of Guizhou Province. A colony of more than 60 nymphs and 52 adults emerged from the log when the wood was split.
“With this new discovery, we hope to reignite the scientific interest towards this peculiar and rather intriguing cockroach genus,” commented Dr. Che Yanli, corresponding author of the study.
The article can be found at: Wang et al. (2014) A taxonomic study of the genus Panesthia (Blattodea, Blaberidae, Panesthiinae) from China with descriptions of one new species, one new subspecies and the male of Panesthia antennata.
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Source: Pensoft Publishers.
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