Neostylopyga


Neostylopyga is a genus of cockroaches described by Robert [Walter Campbell Shelford] in 1911.

Taxonomy and systematics

The type species of the genus is Neostylopyga rhombifolia, but at first it was assigned to the genus Blatta and subsequently to other genera, including Periplaneta, to which it is closely related.

Accepted species

Species records are from Africa, southern Asia and Australia; the Cockroach Species File lists:
  1. Neostylopyga albofasciata
  2. Neostylopyga annulicornis Princis, 1962
  3. Neostylopyga atrox
  4. Neostylopyga badia Princis, 1966
  5. Neostylopyga coxalis
  6. Neostylopyga hova
  7. Neostylopyga jambusanensis Roth, L. M., 1988
  8. Neostylopyga maculifrons
  9. Neostylopyga maindroni
  10. Neostylopyga michaelseni
  11. Neostylopyga modesta Bei-Bienko, 1965
  12. Neostylopyga nana
  13. Neostylopyga neavei
  14. Neostylopyga nkelei
  15. Neostylopyga nossibei
  16. Neostylopyga ornata
  17. Neostylopyga parallela Bolivar, 1897
  18. Neostylopyga picea
  19. Neostylopyga propinqua
  20. Neostylopyga quadrilobata
  21. Neostylopyga rhombifolia - type species
  22. Neostylopyga rufimarginata
  23. Neostylopyga salomonis
  24. Neostylopyga schultzei
  25. Neostylopyga sexpustulata
  26. Neostylopyga variabilis Princis, 1962
  27. Neostylopyga voeltzkowi
  28. Neostylopyga weileri
  29. Neostylopyga yemenica
Note: Neostylopyga laosana Anisyutkin, 2010 and other species may now be placed in the genus Macrostylopyga: or elsewhere in the Blattinae. These include species which are strikingly coloured and patterned and are popular in cultures under the common name harlequin roaches or harlequin cockroaches.

Pest status

Neostylopyga is related to invasive pest species such as Periplaneta americana, and like the major pest species, some members of the genus, such as Neostylopyga rhombifolia, the "harlequin cockroach", have spread to so many regions as to be regarded with suspicion at least. In some countries, it already is seen as a largely outdoor domestic pest. Certainly none of the species is widely seen as one of the major pest roaches yet.