New Wood Eating Cockroach Speces Discovered in China
Posted on January 20, 2015
A new species of wood eating cockroach has been discovered in China. The cockroach was discovered by scientists from Southwest University in Chongqing, China.
These cockroaches can be found in rotten logs and are generally not found in human homes. Science journal publisher Pensoft notes that only 30 of the 4,600 species of cockroaches worldwide are known for inhabiting human residences.
The new species, Panesthia guizhouensis, has a shiny black exterior. It was found in rotting wood near a large pool in a rural area in Guizhou Province. The cockroaches have brown or black eyes and a yellowish brown upper lip. The females are the largest of the species with a body length of 26.8 to 31.5 mm. The rotting wood was found to contain a colony of over 60 nymphs and 52 adults. Pensoft says the cockroaches all went scurrying away when the wood was split open by the researchers.
Not much is known about the cockroaches in the genus Panesthia because of their reclusive nature. Dr. Yanli Che, Southwest University, China, says in a statement, "With this new discovery, we hope to reignite the scientific interest towards this peculiar and rather intriguing cockroach genus."
A research paper on the wood eating cockroaches can be found here on the journal ZooKeys.