Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) discovers new cockroach species Neoloboptera peninsularis in Deccan plateau

Key facts

• Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and Prof. Ramkrishna More College have identified a new cockroach species named Neoloboptera peninsularis in the Deccan plateau.
• The species was recorded from agricultural landscapes in Nathachi Wadi, Daund, near Pune, where it lives in decomposing leaf litter and beneath palm shrubs.
• Neoloboptera peninsularis is characterised by a yellowish-brown glossy body, fully developed wings, asymmetrical cerci, and a whip-like male genital component.
• Prior to this finding, only two species within the genus Neoloboptera had been documented in India, with the last one described in 1995.
• The research team, led by Shabnam Ansari and Dr K P Dinesh, employed an integrative taxonomic approach combining morphological analysis with modern DNA sequencing.
• The study provides the first DNA barcode for the genus, addressing the Darwinian shortfall regarding evolutionary relationships.
• The discovery addresses the Linnaean shortfall concerning species diversity and the Wallacean shortfall regarding species distribution in the Deccan peninsula.
• Genetic analysis conducted during the study indicated several distinct undocumented lineages in Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.