Gromphadorinha portentosa, Schaum, 1853

Herhold, Hollister W, Davis, Steven R, Degrey, Samuel P & Grimaldi, David A, 2023, COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF THE INSECT TRACHEAL SYSTEM PART 1: INTRODUCTION, APTERYGOTES, PALEOPTERA, POLYNEOPTERA, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 459 (1), pp. 1-184 : 1-184

Gromphadorhina portentosa

“Madagascar hissing cockroach”

Figures 114 (lateral), 115 (dorsal), 116 (ventral)

Plates 70 (lateral), 71 (dorsal), 72 (ventral)

Easily the most popular cock- roach (as far as cockroach popular- ity goes), the physiology of the hissing behavior of G. portentosa was investigated by Nelson and col- leagues (Nelson, 1979; Nelson and Fraser, 1980), with the notable find- ing that the fourth spiracle (A2-S) is the source of the hiss. Heinrich et al. (2013) documented unidirectional airflow in G. portentosa resulting from spiracular valve control. As seen in the plates, the tracheal archi- tecture of Gromphadorhina is remarkably complex, so only spiracles and major tracheae are labeled here. As is common in reared Gromphadorhina colonies, the individual scanned was infested with mites (see fig. 117 ), likely Gromphadorholaelaps schaeferi , found to be possibly beneficial by Yoder et al. (2012).

Figures

FIGURE 114. Gromphadorhina portentosa (Blattodea: Blaberidae) lateral view.

FIGURE 115. Gromphadorhina portentosa (Blattodea: Blaberidae) dorsal view.

FIGURE 116. Gromphadorhina portentosa (Blattodea: Blaberidae) ventral view.

FIGURE 117. Gromphadorhina with Gromphadorholaelaps schaeferi mites, shown in iso-surfaced volume rendering of right pronotum and mesothoracic spiracle (T2-S). Direct screen capture from 3D Slicer.