Cockroach Fossils


The earliest cockroach-like fossils ("blattopterans" or "roachids") are from the Carboniferous period 354-295 million years ago. However, these fossils differ from modern cockroaches in having long external ovipositors and are the ancestors of mantises, as well as modern blattodeans. The first fossils of modern cockroaches with internal ovipositors appeared in the early Cretaceous. Read more ...




In the News ...


49-Million-Year-Old Cockroach Fossil Found   Live Science - January 7, 2014
A common European and African cockroach may have gotten its evolutionary start in North America, according to new fossil findings. More than 70 species of cockroaches in the genus Ectobius currently crawl through Europe and Africa, making them amongst the most common cockroaches in that part of the world. They measure only about 0.25 to 0.5 inches long (6.35 to 12.7 millimeters), considerably smaller than the American cockroaches (Periplaneta Americana) that can grow to about 1.5 in. long (4 centimeters) and plague major cities and small towns across the United States




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