📸 PhotoPhoto: Almabes at English Wikipedia · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons Source
Madagascar hissing cockroach
Gromphadorhina portentosa (Madagascar hissing cockroach · マダガスカルヒッシングローチ)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum body length of 10.2 cm is longer than the long side of a credit card (8.56 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 It is traded as a pet insect (in the pet trade) and plays a role in nutrient cycling in Malagasy forests (Animal Diversity Web).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Madagascar hissing cockroach is a large, wingless cockroach living in the tropical rainforests of Madagascar, named for the hissing sound it makes.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is covered in a thick, hard mahogany-brown to black exoskeleton and lacks wings. Males have a pair of large bumps (pronotal humps) behind the head, which are much smaller in females.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It is a decomposer that feeds on decaying plants, fallen fruit, and small insect and animal carcasses. Active at night, males defend territories and drive away intruders with hissing sounds and posturing.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • catalogueoflife.org — 6KSHD
- • wikidata.org — Q1073729
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Female Madagascar hissing cockroach.JPG
- • animaldiversity.org — Gromphadorhina portentosa
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Didier Descouens · CC BY 4.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Blaberus giganteus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.