Gromphadorhina sp. holotype photo available?

[Pharma]

Hi

I wonder whether there are photos of the different Gromphadorhina sp. available online. I just could find the one of G. portentosa.

And are there original descriptions available (I love these old ink drawings, they say more than photographs) or a listing of the differences as originally stated?

I do have pretty much of a difficulty to see the species differences (color excluded!) even though I know them (some) in theory*.

A rough sketch indicating exactly the important ones would help me too.

* These bumps/dimples, the 'pinched together' pronotum, setae, horn angle etc. but I just can't see it clearly (either I need new glasses, I'm just stupid, or I only have G. portentosa or some kind of hybrids).

Grüessli

Andreas

 

[Allpet Roaches]

http://blattodea.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/ShowImage.aspx?TaxonNameID=1444&ImageID=14http://blattodea.speciesfile.org/Common/ba...&ImageID=14


You can see differences but the problem is the "species" and "Princisia" are just G. portentosa geographic races with identical genitalia that readily interbreed.

 

[Pharma]

Hi Orin

That's the one photo I found .

I know that P. vanwaerebeki is believed to be a local form of G. portentosa (quod es demonstrandum) but this is not my real issue. Besides, I know that no one could ever find a difference in male genitalia.

I wonder whether there are such photos or sketches for the other Gromphadorhina sp. like G. oblongata and G. grandidieri maybe even in direct comparison with G. portentosa.

Grüessli

Andreas

 

[Zephyr]

I saw a picture of what somebody called "TRUE Gromphadorhina grandidieri." It looked nothing like the ones in culture and looked like a chestnut brown G. portentosa.

 

[Pharma]

Every G. grandidieri picture I ever saw looked absolutely the same like G. portentosa on my computer screen, just with that uniform dark brown. I do have some individuals beneath my G. portentosa looking pretty much the same *LOL*. Some say that here in Europe we have the G. portentosa color-morph 'G. grandidieri', the true G. grandidieri (maybe), and G. portentosa 'Black' (and presumably no one who can tell them apart).... it's a mess and that's why I ask for holotype photos and original descriptions with sketches.

Or maybe someone skilled will paint me a 'comic' , but black&white please!

Uppsss... and I fround the "True" G. grandidieri photos of wild living specimens on the blattodea species file site.

 

[Allpet Roaches]

"True" G. grandidieri

You're assuming the taxonomy is based on some ultimate truth when the problem with hisser taxonomy is systemic. I'm sure the tigers can be grandidieri as much as a chestnut brown portentosa.