Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Home Research Hub dataZone Galapagos Species Database

Phoetalia pallida (Brunner, 1865)

cucaracha, Pallid cockroach

Scavenger; the species occurs in and around houses, probably an urban record; January. There are no recent records of this species.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Blattodea

Superfamily
Blaberoidea

Family
Blaberidae

Genus
Phoetalia

Species
pallida

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Leurolestes pallidus (Brunner, 1865)

Origin: Introduced - not established

Introduction

Year of first record: 1920

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Stowaway

Subpathway: Hitchhiker on transport vehicles/cargo

Introduced status: Historic record only

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: San Cristobal

References

  • Hebard, M. (1920) Expedition of the Calfornia Academy of Sciences to the Galapagos Islands, 1905-1906. 17. Dermaptera and Orthoptera. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series 2(17): 311-346.
  • Linsley, E.G. Usinger, R.L. (1966) Insects of the Galápagos Islands. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences Fourth Series 33(7): 113-196.
  • Peck, S.B. (1996) Diversity and distribution of the orthopteroid insects of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Canadian Journal of Zoology 74: 1497-1510.
  • Peck, S.B. Roth, L.M. (1992) Cockroaches of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, with descriptions of three new species (Insecta: Blattodea). Canadian Journal of Zoology 70(12): 2202-2217.
  • Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
  • Peck, S.B. (2001) Smaller Orders of Insects of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity. NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 278 pp.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Phoetalia pallida", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=10370. Accessed 1 November 2026.