Europa Island, in Malagasy Nosy Ampela is a 28-square-kilometre (11 sq mi) low-lying tropical atoll in the Mozambique Channel, about a third of the way from southern Madagascar to southern Mozambique. The island had never been inhabited until 1820, when the French family Rosier moved to it. The island officially became a possession of France in 1897.
Giant cockroaches, or blaberids, 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.
Ectobiidae is a family of the order Blattodea (cockroaches). This family contains many of the smaller common household pest cockroaches, among others. They are sometimes called wood cockroaches. A few notable species include:
The Madagascar hissing cockroach, also known as the hissing cockroach or simply hisser, is one of the largest species of cockroach, reaching 5 to 7.5 centimetres 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 and G. picea.
Blaberus discoidalis, commonly known as the discoid cockroach, tropical cockroach, West Indian leaf cockroach, false death's head cockroach, Haitian cockroach, and drummer, is a cockroach native to Central America of the “giant cockroach” family, Blaberidae.
Blaptica dubia, the dubia roach, orange-spotted roach, Guyana spotted roach, or Argentinian wood roach, is a medium-sized species of cockroach which grows to around 40–45 mm (1.6–1.8 in).
Lucihormetica is a South American genus of giant cockroaches from the family Blaberidae, collectively referred to as glowspot cockroaches. It has been anecdotally reported that the thoracic spots of males are bioluminescent, but detailed research has been unable to conclusively prove this, although evidence for autofluorescence exists. The genus includes both relatively common and rare species: For example, L. verrucosa is relatively common and sometimes kept in captivity, while eight of the remaining species only are known from a single specimen each.
Lucihormetica luckae is a species of giant cockroach (Blaberidae) from Ecuador.
Gromphadorhina oblongonota, the wide-horned hisser, is a large, flightless species of hissing cockroach from southern Madagascar, and one of four members of the genus Gromphadorhina. This species is common in the pet trade, but it is difficult to distinguish from G. portentosa and is commonly confused with it, although oblongonota tends to be significantly larger and somewhat darker than portentosa.
Gromphadorhina is a genus of large, flightless cockroaches from southern Madagascar; they are typical of the tribe Gromphadorhini and common in the pet trade. In the older literature, the name is sometimes misspelled as Gromphadorrhina.
Gromphadorhini, the hissing cockroaches, is a tribe of large, flightless cockroaches comprising 20 known species in six genera, all but one from the island of Madagascar where they inhabit wood, leaf litter or rocky crevices in forest or woodland; the one exception, Elliptorhina lefeuvri, being from Europa Island off the coast of Madagascar. Many of the species are popular in the pet trade.
Lucihormetica verrucosa is a species of giant cockroach in the family Blaberidae, commonly known as the warty glowspot cockroach. It is native to Venezuela and Colombia.
Blabericolidae is a family of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexia.
Calolampra elegans is a species of cockroach in the family Blaberidae. It is found in Queensland, Australia.
Epilampra is a genus of cockroach in the family Blaberidae. There are more than 70 described species in the genus Epilampra.
Pycnoscelus is a genus of cockroaches in the family Blaberidae. Species in the genus Pycnoscelus are recorded from India, China and SE Asia.
Elliptorhina is a genus of large, flightless cockroaches that are part of the tribe Gromphadorhini. There are ten known species, nine of those found on the island of Madagascar and one, Elliptorhina lefeuvri, found on Europa Island. Some of its species are regularly seen in the pet trade.
Elliptorhina javanica, also known as the Halloween hisser, is a large species of wingless cockroach native to the island of Madagascar.
Zetobora is a genus of cockroaches belonging to the family Blaberidae.
Panesthia is a large genus of burrowing giant cockroach in the subfamily Panesthiinae. It is subsocial and its species are mainly found in Southeast Asia, coastal East Asia, Australasia, and Indo-Malaysia.
