McKittrick (1965) noted similar morphological characteristics between some termites and cockroach nymphs. This hypothesis was originally based on similarity of the symbiotic gut flagellates in termites regarded as living fossils and wood-eating cockroaches. This evidence supported a hypothesis suggested in 1934 that termites are closely related to the wood-eating cockroaches (genus Cryptocercus).
However, recent genetic evidence strongly suggests that they evolved directly from 'true' cockroaches, and many authors now place them as an " epifamily" of Blattodea. Termites were previously regarded as a separate order Isoptera to cockroaches. DictyopteraĬryptocercidae (brown-hooded cockroaches)īlattidae (Oriental, American and other cockroaches) The cockroach families Corydiidae and Ectobiidae were previously known as the Polyphagidae and Blattellidae. The cockroach families Anaplectidae, Lamproblattidae, and Tryonicidae are not shown but are placed within the superfamily Blattoidea. The evolutionary relationships of the Blattodea (cockroaches and termites) shown in the cladogram are based on Inward, Beccaloni and Eggleton (2007). A recent phylogenetic analysis suggests that cockroaches originated at least in the Jurassic.
The first fossils of modern cockroaches with internal ovipositors appeared in the early Cretaceous.
As the body, hind wings and mouthparts are not preserved in fossils frequently, the relationship of these roachoids and modern cockroaches remains disputed. Fossil roachoids that lived during that time differ from modern cockroaches in that they had long external ovipositors and are the ancestors of mantises, as well as modern cockroaches. Īccording to one hypothesis, cockroaches were an ancient group of insects that arose during the Devonian period. The earliest cockroach-like fossils ("blattopterans" or "roachoids") are from the Carboniferous period 320 million years ago, as are fossil roachoid nymphs. Another name, Blattoptera, is also sometimes used to refer to extinct cockroach relatives. The current catalogue of world cockroach species uses the name Blattodea for the group. Historically, the name Blattaria was used largely interchangeably with the name Blattodea, but whilst Blattaria was used to refer to 'true' cockroaches exclusively, the Blattodea also includes the termites. The scientific name derives from the Latin blatta, "an insect that shuns the light", which in classical Latin was applied not only to cockroaches, but also to mantids. The name " cockroach" comes from the Spanish word for cockroach, cucaracha, transformed by 1620s English folk etymology into "cock" and "roach". Currently, 4,600 species and over 460 genera are described worldwide. They are popularly depicted as dirty pests, although the majority of species are inoffensive and live in a wide range of habitats around the world.Ī 40- to 50-million-year-old cockroach in Baltic amber ( Eocene)Ĭockroaches are members of the Superorder Dictyoptera, which includes the termites and mantids, a group of insects once thought to be separate from cockroaches. Cockroaches have appeared in human culture since classical antiquity. Some species, such as the gregarious German cockroach, have an elaborate social structure involving common shelter, social dependence, information transfer and kin recognition. Modern cockroaches are not considered to be a monophyletic group, as it has been found based on genetics that termites are deeply nested within the group, with some groups of cockroaches more closely related to termites than they are to other cockroaches. Contrary to popular belief, extinct cockroach relatives ( Blattoptera) and 'roachoids' such as the Carboniferous Archimylacris and Apthoroblattina were not as large as the biggest modern species. Tropical cockroaches are often much larger than temperate species. They are common and hardy insects capable of tolerating a wide range of climates, from Arctic cold to tropical heat. Cockroaches are somewhat generalized insects lacking special adaptations (such as the sucking mouthparts of aphids and other true bugs) they have chewing mouthparts and are probably among the most primitive of living Neopteran insects. Those early ancestors, however, lacked the internal ovipositors of modern roaches. The cockroaches are an ancient group, with ancestors originating during the Carboniferous period, some 300–350 million years ago. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Cockroaches (or roaches ) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites.
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