A first record of Hemithyrsocera palliata Fabricius, 1798 (Blattodea: Blattellidae: Blattellinae): an addition to the fauna of Maharashtra, India

 

Sunil Madhukar Gaikwad 1, Yogesh Jangonda Koli 2 & Ganesh Parasram Bhawane 3

 

1,3 Department of Zoology, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra 416001, India

2 Department of Zoology, Sant Rawool Maharaj College, Kudal, Maharashtra 416520, India

1 gaikwadsm@rediffmail.com (corresponding author), 2 dryjkoli@gmail.com, 3 drgpbhawane@gmail.com

 

 

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o4282.7487-9 | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7CA33119-9BF2-4015-BB64-878F4AF6FC7D

Editor: B.A. Daniel, Zoo Outreach Organization, Coimbatore, India. Date of publication: 26 June 2015 (online & print)

 

Manuscript details: Ms # o4282 | Received 05 December 2014 | Final received 13 January 2015 | Finally accepted 18 May 2015

 

Citation: Gaikwad, S.M., Y.J. Koli & G.P. Bhawane (2015). A first record of Hemithyrsocera palliata Fabricius, 1798 (Blattodea: Blattellidae: Blattellinae): an addition to the fauna of Maharashtra, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 7(8): 7487–7489; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o4282.7487-9

 

Copyright: © Gaikwad et al. 2015. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

 

Funding: Department of Zoology, Shivaji University and UGC, SAP Phase-I.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: Authors are grateful to Head, Department of Zoology, Shivaji University, Kolhapur for providing necessary facilities and UGC, SAP Phase-I for financial assistance for field work.

 

 

The cockroaches are widely distributed insects and well known for pestiferous status. About 4000 species and 445 genera under six families are distributed all over the world of which 156 species belonging to 57 genera under five families are recorded form India (Prabakaran et al. 2009). The fauna of Maharashtra enumerates 12 species under 10 genera spread over four families (Jadhav & Sharma 2012). Gaikwad et al. (2014) have reported six species of cockroaches under five genera spread over three families from Kolhapur District. The Golden Ring Cockroach Hemithyrsocera palliata was first described by Fabricius (1798). This species is widely distributed on the Asiatic continent (Bruijning 1948). According to Hanitsch (1925), Mandal (2006), urn:lsid:Blattodea.speciesfile.org:TaxonName:5468 (accessed on 23 December 2014) and http://www.vcharkarn.com/vcafe/181374 (accessed on 23 December 2014). H. palliata is distributed in India, Sri Lanka, China, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Borneo Island, Thailand and Combodia. In India the taxon is reported from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and Tripura (Mandal 2006).

This paper reports an additional sighting of the species from Maharashtra on the basis of two females collected when they were attracted towards a house tube light at Sangirdewadi, Kudal, Sindhudurga, Maharashtra (15059’56.09’’N & 73041’42.91’’E) at an elevation of around 28m. Bruijning (1948) and Mandal (2006) have given brief diagnostic characters of this species. However, there are neither color photographs nor illustrations and detailed diagnostic characters of this species are not available anywhere. In the present paper efforts have been made to provide a brief description and good color photographs with illustrations. The specimens are deposited at Department of Zoology, Shivaji University, Kolhapur.

Material examined: ZSUK.BL/09, 1 female, 18.vii.2014; 1 female, 28.vii.2014, Sangirdewadi, Kudal, Sindhudurg District, coll. Y.J. Koli.

Diagnosis: Female: The body color is shining dark brown (Image 1). The body length is from 12.04–12.07 mm; pronotum length is from 2.81–2.9 mm; pronotum width is from 3.4–3.6 mm; and tegmina length is from 8.98–9 mm. The head is not very broad, vertex slightly exposed, ocellar spot prominent forming an angle with intervening area, clypeus and labrum large (Image 4); pronotum subelliptical black with golden yellow margin rounded about the pronotum, slightly convex, outer lateral margin rounded and posterior margin obtusely rounded (Image 3); legs long and slender; coxae large and rather closely approximated; antero-ventral margin of the front femur with row of spines which generally decrease in size laterally; tibia more spiny than femur, spines increasing in size antero-posteriorly; tarsi five segmented (Images 2, 6); tegmina and wings fully developed, subcosta nearly reaching the median point, radial vein branched, forked before the middle and sending 11 to 12 branches to the apical angle; the entire wing has a brownish tinge, except the anterior area. Supra-anal plate with convexly rounded hind margin, 9th sternum large forming subgenital plate, cerci long and slender nine segmented, dark brown proximally and pale distally, extending well beyond the supra-anal plate (Image 5).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the fauna of Maharashtra (Part 2), Jadhav & Sharma (2012) have mentioned four species belonging to the subfamily Blatellinae. Hence, H. palliata is an addition not only to the Blatellinae but also to the Blattodea of Maharashtra.

 

References

Bruijning, C.F.A. (1948). Studies on Malayan Blattidae. Zool. Meded. R. Mus. Nat. Hist. Leiden. 29: 1–174.

Gaikwad, S.M., Y.J. Koli & G.P. Bhawane (2014). Blattodea of Kolhapur District with the First Record of Supella (Supella) longipalpa (Blattodea: Blattellidae) for the state of Maharashtra, India. Florida Entomologist 97(1): 80–84.

Hanitsch, R. (1925). On a collection of Blattidae from northern Sarawak, Chiefly Mt. Murud and Mt. Dulit. The Sarawak Museum Journal 3(8–11): 75–107.

Jadhav, S.S. & R.M. Sharma (2012). Insecta: Blattodea, Zoological Survey of India, Fauna of Maharashtra, State fauna Series 20(2): 447–448.

Mandal, S.K. (2006). Blattoderia (Dictyoptera) fauna of Arunachal Pradesh. State fauna Series, Zoological Survey of India 13(Part-2): 175–190.

Prabakaran, S., S.K. Mandal & K. Yadav (2009). Insecta: Dictyoptera: Blattodea. Fauna of Tamil Nadu. State Fauna Series, Zoological Survey of India 17: 57–59.