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Madagascar hissing cockroach

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Species of cockroach

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Madagascar hissing cockroach

Female

Scientific classification

Kingdom:

Animalia

Phylum:

Arthropoda

Clade:

Pancrustacea

Class:

Insecta

Order:

Blattodea

Family:

Blaberidae

Genus:

Gromphadorhina

Species:

G. portentosa

Binomial name

Gromphadorhina portentosa<br>(Schaum, 1853)

G. portentosa growth stages<br>The Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa ), also known as the hissing cockroach , Malagasy hissing cockroach or simply hisser , is one of the largest species of cockroach, reaching 5 to 7.5 centimetres (2 to 3 inches) at maturity. They are native to the island of Madagascar, which is off the African mainland, where they are commonly found in rotting logs. It is one of some 20 known species of large hissing roaches from Madagascar, many of which are kept as pets, and often confused with one another by pet dealers; in particular, G. portentosa is commonly confused with G. oblongonota[1][better source needed] and G. picea.[2]

Unlike most cockroaches, they are wingless. The "hissing" sound (expelling air through their bodies) is their primary defense, to frighten potential predators, as they cannot fly and are easily captured. They are excellent climbers and can scale smooth glass. Males can be distinguished from females by their thicker, hairier antennae and the very pronounced bumps on the pronotum. Females carry the ootheca internally and release the young nymphs only after the offspring have emerged within them (this is known as ovoviviparity). As in some other wood-inhabiting roaches, the parents and offspring will commonly remain in close physical contact for extended periods of time. In captivity, they have been known to live up to 5 years. They feed primarily on vegetable material.

Taxonomy<br>[edit]

In 1842, German explorer Wilhelm Peters set off on a voyage to Mozambique, during which he collected many specimens of a wide variety of species. Upon returning to Germany, he deposited many of these specimens in the collection of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, where they would later be studied by various biologists. German entomologist Hermann Rudolph Schaum studied some of the insects collected by Peters, and noticed that one of the specimens, a large cockroach found in the Bay of Saint-Augustin, Madagascar, matched no species known to science at the time. Schaum determined that this cockroach must be a new species, and gave it the scientific name Hormetica portentosa.[3] This specimen would later be studied again by Swiss entomologist Carl Brunner von Wattenwyl, who found that it differed significantly enough from other known cockroaches that it should be given its own genus separate from them. He therefore established the genus Gromphadorhina in 1865, renaming the species as Gromphadorhina portentosa and designating it as the type species of this genus.[4]

Hissing<br>[edit]

As the common name suggests, the Madagascar hissing cockroach is characterized by its "hissing" sound, which some people claim sounds more like a rattlesnake's tail or a rainstick.[5] This is their primary method of warding off potentially insectivorous predators. The sound is produced as the insect forcefully expels air out of their specialized respiratory spiracles (orifices), mainly those that are located on the insect fourth body segment (abdomen),[6] although spiracles are found, more or less, on all segments of their abdomen. The Madagascar hissing cockroach is the only member of their group of cockroaches that can make audible sounds. Compared to crickets, this exact mode of sound production is atypical, as most insects that make noises do so by rubbing together various body parts ("stridulation"), such as the hind legs. Some long-horned beetles, e.g., the giant...