Zoology
Structural Organization in Animals -12
Concepts Covered in the Class:
• Taxonomic C lassific ation of C ockr oach
• General Characte ristics of Cockroach
• Morpholog y and Exoske leton (Sclerites)
• Body Segment ation in E mbr yonic vs. Adult St ages
• Morpholog y of C ockroach: He ad and its Appendages
• Mouth Parts of C ockroach
• Thorax, Legs, and Wings
• Cockr oach Ab domen and Appe ndages
COCKROACH: Taxonomic Classification
• Kingdom: Animali a, Phylu m: Arthropoda, Class: Insecta
/ Hexapoda (possesses 3 pairs of legs).
• Genus & Species: Pe riplaneta americ ana.
• Color : Black or brown; bright red, green , or ye llow in
tropical r egions.
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• Size: to 3 inches ( 0.6 − 7.6 𝑐𝑚 ); specifically 34 −
4
53 𝑚𝑚 in Perip lanet a americ ana.
General characters
• Nocturn al, omnivorous , cursorial (fast -running) pests
and vect ors of diseases living in damp p lac es.
Morphology of Cockroach
• External appe ar ance: Sh ows external metameric
segmentation.
• Exoskeleton : Hard chitinous plates called scle rites
cover each segment.
• Sclerite Types : Upper/dor sal plat e is Tergite,
lowe r/ventr al plate is Sternit e, an d later al plates are
Ple urites.
• Articular / Arthrodi al Membrane : Thin, flexible
membr ane j oining the sclerit e s.
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Body Division and Segmentation
• Body Parts : Divisible int o 3 parts: He ad, Thor ax, and
Abdomen.
• Embr yonic li fe segments: H ead ( 6 ), Thorax ( 3 ),
Abdomen ( 11), Total = 20 segments.
• Adult cockroach segments: Head ( 1 segment, forme d
by the fusion of 6 embr yonic segments), Thorax ( 3),
Abdomen ( 10), Total = 14 segments.
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Morphology of Cockroach: Head
• Head is tri angular, hyp ognat hous (bent downwards at
90° ), and high ly mobi le due t o a flexib le neck.
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• Simple Eyes (Oce lli) : 1 pair, simple, vestigial
photor eceptors with no image formation.
• Compound E yes: 1 pair , resp onsible f or visi on.
• Antennae: 1 pair , thread-li ke or filiform, arising from
membr anous soc kets; contai n sensory recept ors to
monitor th e envir onment.
Mouth Parts
• Mouth parts are of biting and chewing type.
• Labrum: 1 upper lip.
• Labium: 1 lower lip.
• Maxillae : 2 (one pair), he lping in food manip ulation.
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• Mandib les: 2 (one pair), c ontaining a grinding r egion
and an incising region f or cr u shing food.
• Hypoph arynx : 1 medi an, flexible lobe acting as the
tongue.
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Thorax
• Thorax c onsists of 3 segments: Proth orax , Mesoth orax ,
and Metath or ax.
• Head is connected to the thorax by a short , flexible
neck which is an extension of the proth or ax.
• Pronot um: Large chitinous p late cover ing the dorsal
side of the proth or ax.
• Legs: 3 pairs of jointed legs, with 1 pair arising from
each thor acic segment.
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Wings
• Tegmina (Mesothor acic wings): 1 pair, dark, le ather y,
opaque forewings that pr otec t the hindwings at rest.
• Metathor acic wings (Hindwings): 1 pair, t ranspar ent,
membr anous f lying wings used in flight.
Abdomen
• Consists of 10 segments in both male an d fe male
cockr oaches.
• Wings extend beyon d the tip of the ab domen
specifically in males.
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• In females, the 7𝑡ℎ sternum is boat -shaped and
together with the 8𝑡ℎ and 9𝑡ℎ sterna for ms a brood or
genital p ouch.
• Female genit al pouch con tains female gonopor e,
spermathec al p ores , and c ollateral glands.
• In males , the genit al pouc h lies at the hind end,
bounded dorsally by the 9𝑡ℎ and 10𝑡ℎ terga an d
ventrally b y the 9𝑡ℎ sternum.
• Male genit al pouch c ontains dorsal anus, vent ral male
genital p ore , and g onap ophysi s.
Anal Cerci
• Consists of 1 pair, present in both sexes on the 10𝑡ℎ
segment; jointe d, filamentou s structures th at recei ve
sound waves.
Anal Style / Caudal Style
• Consists of 1 pair of short, thread - like structure s
arising from the 9𝑡ℎ segment.
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• Present on ly in male coc kroaches, ser ving as a ke y
featu re of sexual di morph ism.
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