WELCOME

Catania's article is the latest in a long line of

June 9, 2018 by Lena Webb

Catania's article is the latest in a long line of recent books about roaches, but the latest to investigate its evolutionary history is probably The Last of the Roach. The book takes some of the best-known tales from the Roach Chronicles and introduces us to a species that could have had a more varied and dangerous history before it was wiped out by the plague of 1466.

To begin with, it is hard to imagine this roach ever coming back from the dead. "The only known fossil evidence for an adult roach from Spain that survived a single life is from the age of three, but it looks like it was probably born about 11 million years ago," says Catania. "The only thing we know for certain is that the roaches were probably brought back in the late 13th century or so."

While it has long been thought that roaches are descended from a family of predators that used to roam the savannahs of the Americas, the new study points out that roaches that are still living in the wild will likely end up in the same "dead environment" if they survive an attack from a roach. "I'm not sure if that's an accurate statement," Catania says.

In fact, catanomycetes are a family of predators that have evolved a new set of defenses against the very insects that they prey on. The most common form of defense for roach, according to the new paper, is to avoid attacking with its tail. The species is known to utilize its tail to strike and bite at prey—the most common kind of attack. "This would be a major advantage for both predator and prey," Catania says .

According to the new paper, the roach actually "is very good at fighting off the predatory prey." But this isn't the only thing that's going on in the animals' heads in the wild. The animals like to be a part of the landscape and to be able to look out for their own life. The researchers then show that roaches can also "recover" from threats as they move into the next world.

This is what the roach might look like in the wild—a wild animal that has evolved an entirely different set of defenses against the predatory prey. In fact, this new study shows, roaches have evolved different defenses on the world's surface—a new defense system that can be used to fight off predators.