The research team of Professor Tomoyuki Shimano of Hosei University, Shizuma Yanagisawa of Ryuyo Insect Nature Observation Park, and Associate Professor Yoshitaka Sakamaki of Kagoshima University have newly introduced two species of "Eucorydia yasu" from the Southwest Islands (Kagoshima Prefecture-Okinawa Prefecture). discovered.There are two beautiful species of blue metallic and yellow belts, and only one species of Eucorydia yasumatsui, which inhabits Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island, has been known in Japan.

 Although the cockroach has a "black" and "dirty" image, the "Eucorydia yasu" cockroach distributed from Japan (Nansei Islands) to Southeast Asia has a very beautiful blue metallic luster and a bright orange crest, so-called beautiful. It is called a seed.They do not go in and out of private houses, and usually live in decaying trees in the forest, feeding on humus.

 One of the species discovered this time, "Eucorydia tokaraensis", is distributed in the Uji archipelago family island, Tokara archipelago Akusekijima, Amami archipelago Amami Oshima, and Tokunoshima, and the total length of males is 1. It is characterized by having three crests of yellow-red on the upper wing, which is ~ 12.0 mm.Another species, "Eucorydia donanensis", inhabits only Yonaguni Island in the Yaeyama Islands, and has a male length of 13.0-3 mm, a purple abdomen, and an indistinct yellow-red color on the upper wing. Characterized by having a band-shaped crest.Currently, 1 species of cockroach from Japan are known, and since 12.5 species are listed as new species this time, there are a total of 14.5 species.Of these, about 57% appear in private houses.

 In this study, DNA analysis was performed using 6 loci to elucidate the phylogenetic relationship between Japanese and Taiwanese genus Eucorydia yasu.As a result, it was clearly divided into one species from Taiwan and three species from Japan.Although all of the discoveries are rare species and it is difficult to collect males and females at the same time, Mr. Yanagisawa conducted a tenacious field survey and bred them to study in detail from larvae to adults, and detailed morphology. Measurements were made.It is expected to be a study that is one step closer to elucidating the diversity of cockroaches in Japan, which is useful as a decomposer in forests.

Paper information:[ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE] Two New Species of the Genus Eucorydia (Blattodea: Corydiidae) from the Nansei Islands in Southwest Japan

Hosei University

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Hosei University has cultivated the spirit of "freedom and progress" since its foundation.Currently, it is one of Japan's leading comprehensive universities with a wide range of academic fields consisting of 15 faculties and 38 departments.Foster independent human resources who can take on new challenges with free thinking.Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, FY26 "Support for the Creation of Top Global University Project (Type B […]]

Kagoshima University

Aiming to become a glocal education and research center that flies from southern Kyushu to the world

Kagoshima University has nine faculties and nine graduate schools, with approximately 9 undergraduate students and approximately 9 graduate students (including approximately 9,000 international students), for a total of approximately 2,000 students.We strive to discover the potential of each student and to develop their aptitude, and provide a wide range of liberal arts education and advanced specialized education, as well as […].

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