Galapagos Species Database

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

Rhyparobia maderae (Fabricius, 1781)

cucaracha, Madeira Cockroach

Scavenger; the species may occur around houses; it was collected at lights in town and in rotten Opuntia cactus; February, April.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Blattodea

Superfamily
Blaberoidea

Family
Blaberidae

Genus
Rhyparobia

Species
maderae

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 1989

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Stowaway

Subpathway: Hitchhiker on transport vehicles/cargo

Introduced status: Naturalized

Invasive status: Unlikely to become invasive

Distribution

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

Distribution: Floreana, San Cristobal

References

  • 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.
  • 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. 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. (1996) Diversity and distribution of the orthopteroid insects of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Canadian Journal of Zoology 74: 1497-1510.

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, Rhyparobia maderae", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=10372. Accessed 4 May 2025.