Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
The Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) is a large, wingless cockroach of the forest floors of Madagascar that hisses loudly when disturbed. It is a popular pet and teaching animal, and not a house pest.
The Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) is a large, wingless cockroach of the forest floors of Madagascar that hisses loudly when disturbed. It is a popular pet and teaching animal, and not a house pest.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Madagascar Hissing Cockroach in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Ecdysozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Hissing Without a Voice: How Is the Sound Made?
The insect forces air out through modified breathing pores (spiracles) on its abdomen. Most insect sounds come from rubbing body parts together, and this is a rare case of sound made by exhaled air. Hisses are used in alarm, in fights between males and in courtship.
Horned Fighters
Males have bumps (horns) on the thorax that they use to ram rivals in contests over territory. Females give birth to live nymphs, which they carry in a brood chamber until the eggs hatch.
Litter Recyclers
In the wild, they feed on fallen fruit and leaf litter. Mites that ride on them in captivity are harmless commensals, and the insects are common in classrooms. See American Cockroach.
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Gromphadorhina portentosa |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Insecta |
| Order | Blattodea |
| Family | Blaberidae |
| Field Guide group | Ecdysozoa: Hexapoda (Insects) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Large wingless forest-floor scavenger that hisses by forcing air out of its abdominal spiracles; males bear horn-like pronotal bumps. |
| Order | Blattodea |
| Sound | Hiss from expelled air |