Melyroidea
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| Melyroidea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Melyroidea magnifica in Sumaco Napo-Galeras National Park, Ecuador | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Blattodea |
| Family: | Corydiidae |
| Genus: | Melyroidea Shelford, 1912 |
| Type species | |
| Melyroidea magnifica Shelford, 1912 | |
Melyroidea is a genus of cockroaches in the family Corydiidae found in tropical South America.[1]
Three species are recognised:
- Melyroidea ecuadoriana Vidlička & Vršanský, 2020 – Ecuador
- Melyroidea magnifica Shelford, 1912 – Ecuador and Peru
- Melyroidea mimetica Shelford, 1912 – Brazil
Taxonomy and systematics
The genus Melyroidea was described by Shelford in 1912. The phylogenetic position of Melyroidea was unclear and he originally classified it in the subfamily Blattinae.[2] Gurney in 1948 designated M. magnifica as the type species of the genus.[3] Melyroidea is currently classified within Corydiidae, with recent classification also indicating relations within Ectobiidae, though molecular analysis has not been conducted yet.[4]
Description
The genus is characterized by a semiglobose head with small eyes far apart on the sides. The antennae have moniliform joints. The pronotum is quadrate with rounded angles and margins somewhat reflexed. The tegmina are densely reticulated, obscuring the venation, and are semi-corneous in texture. The wings have a moderate apical field which in repose is doubled on itself longitudinally and tightly rolled up. The supra-anal lamina of the female is triangular or trigonal; the sub-genital lamina is divided by a sulcus. The legs are slender, with all femora unarmed, tibiae very sparsely spined, and tarsi without arolia. The two original species present a curious resemblance to Malacoderm Coleoptera in their form and coloration. The head with its globose front and widely separated small eyes, the cleft subgenital lamina of the female, and the naked tarsal claws are characteristic. The wing-structure is totally unlike that of the Corydiinae, with a prominent apical area and posterior part furnished with radiating veins, typically Plectopterine in structure.[2]