''Drymaplaneta'' is an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
genus of
cockroach
Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the Order (biology), order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known Pest (organism), pests.
Modern cockro ...
es. It belongs to family
Blattidae
Blattidae is a cockroach family in the order Blattodea containing several of the most common household cockroaches. Notable species include:
* '' Blatta orientalis'': Oriental cockroach,
* Common shining cockroach: (''Drymaplaneta communis'' ...
, subfamily
Polyzosteriinae and tribe
Methanini.
[Mackerras, M.J. 1968: Australian Blattidae (Blattodea) IX. Revision of the Polyzosteriinae tribe Methanini, Tryonicinae, and Blattinae. ''Australian Journal of Zoology'', 16(3): 511-575. ]
Description
''Drymaplaneta'' can be distinguished from other Methanini by the greatly reduced, lobiform
tegmina, with hind wings absent, and males having maxillary palps with the third and fourth segments swollen.
As for the individual species:
*''D. lobipennis'' and ''D. shelfordi'' are uniformly dark.
*''D. heydeniana'' is light yellowish brown, darkening apically, with translucent yellow margins on
thorax
The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen.
In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main di ...
and
abdomen
The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...
.
* The remaining three species (''D. communis'', ''D. semivitta'' and ''D. variegata'') are very similar to each other.
For example, ''D. semivitta'' is mostly dark brown/black with white/cream stripes along the sides of the head and thorax.
* The hind tibiae of males are conspicuously expanded and flattened in ''D. semivitta'' and ''D. variegata'', but not in any of the other species.
* ''D. variegata'' is lighter in colour than ''D. semivitta'', darkening apically.
The possibility of
synonymy
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
of these two nominal species has been suggested.
Biodiversity and distribution
There are six species of ''Drymaplaneta'', all endemic to Australia. Two of these species, ''D. heydeniana'' and ''D. semivitta'', have been introduced to
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
.
Ecology
Species of ''Drymaplaneta'' mainly occur in outdoor habitats such as under logs, loose bark, ground covers, leaf litter, decks, plant pots, and inside electrical and irrigation boxes.
They sometimes enter buildings but are considered harmless to humans.
They feed on organic matter, often that which is decaying.
References
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5309725
Cockroach genera