Eurycotis cockrach in bromeliads in Paraguaná, Venezuela

ANARTIA

Publicación del Museo de Biología de la Universidad del Zulia

ISSN 1315-642X (impresa) / ISSN 2665-0347 (digital)

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18112060 / Anartia, 41 (diciembre 2025): 27-31

A cockroach of the genus Eurycotis Stål, 1874

(Blattodea: Eurycotiinae) living in bromeliads from a climatic

relict on the Paraguaná Peninsula, northwestern Venezuela

Una cucaracha del género Eurycotis Stål, 1874 (Blattodea: Eurycotiinae)

que habita en bromelias de un relicto climático en la Península de Paraguaná,

noroeste de Venezuela

Carlo G. Sormani1,2,3, Jorge M. González4 & Gilson A. Rivas5

1 Musée dHistoire Naturelle de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland.

2 Entomological Research, Metepec, Bo. San Mateo, Estado de México, México.

3 Instituto de Ecología, A.C. Apdo. Postal 63, 91000, Xalapa, Veracruz, México.

sormanihc@gmail.com; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6661-6244

4 Austin Achieve Public Schools, Austin, Texas (Research Associate, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity), USA.

gonzalez.jorge.m@gmail.com; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7208-7166

5 Museo de Biología, Facultad Experimental de Ciencias, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela.

anolis30@hotmail.com; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8003-5075

Correspondence: sormanihc@gmail.com

(Received: 08-08-2025 / Accepted: 01-12-2025 /On line: 31-12-2025)

ABSTRACT

e genus of cockroaches Eurycotis Stål, 1874, which currently includes some 60 species, is most diverse in the Greater

Antilles, with limited representation in South America, including the Venezuelan species E. nigra Princis, 1952. Several

species of this genus are known to inhabit bromeliads, particularly in mountainous regions, and some exhibit ecological

associations with ants. A cockroach of this genus was found inhabiting an epiphytic bromeliad in the cloud forest of Cerro

Santa Ana, an isolated mountain rising above the arid lowlands of the Paraguaná Peninsula in northwestern Venezuela.

is cockroach exhibits a distinctive coloration pattern, characterized by the shape and position of the pronotal spots,

which simulate eyes, and by unusual pink tones, which distinguish it from other species of the genus. e discovery of

phytotelm-dwelling cockroaches on Cerro Santa Ana highlights the biogeographic uniqueness of this relict mountain

summit ecosystem, suggesting a high potential for diversity of the genus not yet documented in Venezuela.

Keywords: Cerro Santa Ana, cloud forest, ecological island, endemism, relict species.

RESUMEN

El género de cucarachas Eurycotis Stål, 1874, que actualmente incluye unas 60 especies, presenta su mayor diversidad en las

Antillas Mayores, con una representación limitada en Sudamérica, incluyendo la especie venezolana E. nigra Princis, 1952.

Se sabe que varias especies de este género viven en bromelias, particularmente en regiones montañosas, y algunas muestran

asociaciones ecológicas con hormigas. Se encontró una cucaracha de este género habitando una bromelia epíta del bosque

nublado del Cerro Santa Ana, una montaña aislada que se eleva sobre las áridas tierras bajas de la península de Paraguaná,

en el noroeste de Venezuela. Esta cucaracha muestra un patrón de coloración distintivo en la forma y posición de las man-

chas pronotales, que simulan ojos, y en tonalidades rosadas inusuales, que la diferencian de otras especies del género. El

Sormani, González & Rivas

descubrimiento de cucarachas totélmicas en el Cerro Santa Ana resalta la singularidad biogeográca de este ecosistema

relictual de cumbre de montaña y sugiere un alto potencial de diversidad del género aún no documentada en Venezuela.

Palabras clave: Cerro Santa Ana, endemismo, especie relictual, isla ecológica, selva nublada.

cloud forest at an elevation of 1,840 meters. ese cock-

roaches exhibit a coloration similar to that of the ants,

with the anterior portion of the body reddish-brown and

the posterior portion black (Sormani, pers. obs.).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

On April 6, 2025, a cockroach of the genus Eurycotis

Stål, 1874 was found in an epiphytic bromeliad (Brome-

liaceae) at an elevation of 650 meters in the cloud forest of

Cerro Santa Ana, an isolated mountain on the Paraguaná

Peninsula, Falcón State, Venezuela (Fig. 1). While the pen-

insula is generally arid and xerophytic, higher elevations

of this mountain support a tropical rainforest with cloud

forest characteristics, rich in bromeliads.

Photographic documentation (Fig. 1) shows that this

Eurycotis individual exhibits a coloration pattern ob-

served in other cockroaches, with a pair of pronotal spots

resembling eyes and contrasting colors that may serve an

aposematic function, potentially linked to the repellent

chemicals that some cockroaches release to deter preda-

tors (Turnbull & Fashing 2002). Its overall appearance

and contrasting color pattern resemble those of Euryco-

tis decipiens (Kirby, 1903), a species native to Trinidad &

Tobago. However, the pinkish hues seen in the Paraguaná

specimens are unusual for the genus.

e Paraguaná Peninsula covers about 2,500 km² and is

the northernmost part of continental Venezuela. It is con-

nected to the mainland by the 30 km long Médanos isth-

mus. e landscape consists mainly of low plains, rising

INTRODUCTION

Regarding the classication of the genus Eurycotis, the

rst species described was Polyzosteria azteca Saussure,

1862, from Puebla, Mexico, which is now considered a

synonym of E. mexicana (Saussure, 1862) (Hollier et al.,

2023). e original generic designation underwent several

subsequent changes: from Polyzosteria (Brunner von Wat-

tenwyl, 1865), to Periplaneta (Walker, 1868), and nally

to Eurycotis (Stål, 1874). Today, the genus includes 60 rec-

ognized species, with some large and well-known species

such as the Florida woods cockroach [Eurycotis oridana

(Walker, 1868)]. Over half of these species (34) have been

recorded in Cuba and Hispaniola. In Cuba, 17 species

were described between 1865 and 1942, with four addi-

tional species identied aer 1996. In contrast, Hispaniola

had only a single documented species in 1916, and it was

not until 2014 that 13 new species were described (Gutiér-

rez 2013, 2014, 2025; Núñez 2018; Estrada-Álvarez &

Gutiérrez 2023; Beccaloni 2025). In South America, only

eight species have been reported, including Eurycotis nigra

Princis, 1952, described from Venezuela (Beccaloni 2025;

Cazorla-Perfetti 2019).

Eight species of Eurycotis associated with bromeliads

have been reported in the literature, seven of which occur

in montane regions (Table 1). Notably, in Mexico, adults

and nymphs of various developmental stages of another

Eurycotis species were found living in association with ants

of the genus Camponotus, within large bromeliads that

were attached to oak trees (Quercus spp.; Fagaceae), in a

Table 1. Species of the genus Eurycotis reported to live in association with bromeliads.

Species Locality

(elevation, not mentioned for every source) Source

Eurycotis biolleyi Rehn, 1918 Pitahaya (?), Puntarenas, Costa Rica (1,400 m) Picado 1913

Eurycotis floridana (Walker, 1868) Southeastern United States of America. Roth & Willis 1960

Eurycotis manni Rehn, 1916 Serra da Itiúba, Bahia, Brazil. Rocha & Rodrigues 1976

Eurycotis ferrumequinum Rehn & Hebard, 1917 Monte Cuzco, Guantánamo Province, Cuba Gutiérrez (1990)*

Eurycotis galeoides Rehn & Hebard, 1917 Meseta del Guaso, Guantánamo Province, Cuba Alfaro (1990)*

Eurycotis sp. Ixtepeji, Oaxaca, México (2,547 m) Mondragón 2008

Eurycotis isabeltorres Gutiérrez, 2014 Loma Isabel de Torres, Dominican Republic Gutiérrez 2014

*Gutiérrez, E. (pers. comm.).

Eurycotis cockrach in bromeliads in Paraguaná, Venezuela

centrally to the Cocodite Mesa (~200 m elevation) and

to the Cerro Santa Ana (830 m elevation). e prevailing

climate is arid to semi-arid, with annual rainfall below 500

mm, except possibly at the summit of Cerro Santa Ana.

Vegetation is predominantly xerophytic, with very dry

tropical forest (referred to as Tropical orny Scrub), and

deciduous forest at higher elevations, and cloud forests

near the summit of the Cerro Santa Ana (Feo-Codecido

et al. 1974, Lara & González 2007, Molinari et al. 2012,

Pastor et al. 2016).

e mountains and hills that constitute the northern

Cordillera (Cordillera de la Costa) in Venezuela are dis-

tinguished by the presence of cloud forests found at el-

evations ranging from 600 to 900 meters above sea level

(Fernández Badillo 1997, 2000). However, the Cerro

Santa Ana is a distinct and isolated mountain that is not

connected to that mountainous chain, and that contrasts

starkly with the surrounding landscape (Bendrat 1914,

Ataro & García 2013, Meier 2011). It is also a relict

mountain formed by a volcano that became extinct mil-

lions of years ago, and its hard volcanic rock has resisted

erosion longer than the soer sedimentary rocks that sur-

round it (Bendrat 1914). us, from a geographic and

climatic perspective, the Cerro de Santa Ana is a relict

ecological island.

e comparatively humid climate of Cerro Santa Ana

supports the growth of epiphytic plants, such as bromeli-

ads, which benet from both vertical precipitation in the

form of rainfall and horizontal precipitation in the form of

fog (Bubb et al. 2004, Gómez & Morón 2010, Ray 2013).

CONCLUSION

Climatic data from the place where our cockroach was

found, along with information on other species of Euryco-

tis inhabiting high-altitude regions, suggest a strong corre-

lation between cloud forests, bromeliads, and the diversi-

cation of the genus. is pattern indicates a high potential

for the discovery of new species of Eurycotis in Venezuela,

similarly to what happened in Hispaniola, where several

species have been recently described (Gutierrez 2014).

e isolation and relict nature of the cloud forest on Cerro

Santa Ana further suggests that it may serve as a refuge for

yet-undescribed Eurycotis.

Figure 1. Eurycotis sp. From the Cerro Santa Ana, 650 m, Paraguaná Peninsula, Venezuela.

Sormani, González & Rivas

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Julio César Estrada Álvarez of the Dr. Man-

uel M. Villada University Museum of Natural History,

UAEMex, and Esteban Gutiérrez Cubría of the Museum

of Natural History in Havana, Cuba, for reviewing and

commenting an earlier manuscript, and for sharing infor-

mation and experiences on cockroaches of the subfamily

Eurycotiinae in bromeliads. To iNaturalist for its accessi-

ble platform with images of cockroaches and data on their

geographic distribution and elevational range. We are also

deeply grateful to Jesús Molinari, Ángel L. Viloria and

Marcelo Sánchez-Villagra, who reviewed our nal dra,

adding relevant observations and comments that greatly

improved the manuscript submitted to this journal. Gil-

son Rivas especially thanks Professor Neyla Ortiz for her

kind invitation to the Paraguaná Peninsula as part of pro-

fessional practice 1 and 2 of the Biology degree program at

the University of Zulia, where he had the opportunity to

photograph the specimen of Eurycotis that is the subject

of this article.

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