Panesthia cribrata, commonly called the Australian wood cockroach, is a wood-eating species found in rotten logs. It is found from south east Queensland south to the east coast to Tasmania, also seen at Norfolk Island.[2] It depends on wood for sustenance,[3] and manufactures enzymes that digest cellulose.[4]
Panesthia cribrata | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Blattodea |
Family: | Blaberidae |
Genus: | Panesthia |
Species: | P. cribrata
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Binomial name | |
Panesthia cribrata | |
Synonyms | |
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Acetate and butyrate are transported to a significantly greater extent in Panesthia cribrata than in Periplaneta americana hindguts, which agrees with the fact that the former depends on wood for food (Hogan et al, 1985).
According to Michael Martin, a very few insects, including a few termites, a few long-horned beetles, and the Australian cockroach Panesthia cribrata, can themselves secrete the enzymes that digest cellulose.