The Appearance of Xylophagy in Cockroaches: Two Case Studies with Reference to Phylogeny
Résumé
Xylophagy in cockroaches has been considered a rare attribute, inherited from a common ancestor with termites. This point of view is discussed in a phylogenetic perspective for two independent tropical cockroach lineages: the subfamily Polyphaginae and the group (Zetoborinae + Blaberinae + Gyninae + Diplopterinae). A phylogeny was constructed for each of these two lineages. Xylophagy occurs in Cryptocercus in the subfamily Polyphaginae and has recently been discovered in Parasphaeria (subfamily Zetoborinae). This allows one to propose, in reference to phylogenies, that xylophagy is recently derived, that slow development is a correlate of xylophagy rather than a prerequisite, and that xylophagy appearance preceded the conquest of temperate areas at least once.
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