Unique jumping cockroach discovered

Unique jumping cockroach discovered

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South African scientist Mike Picker discovered the jumping cockroach.

27 May,2011 08:38 pm

Cape Towns Table Mountain National Park is home to the world’s only jumping cockroach. Saltoblattella montistabularis-- jumping cockroach is a delicate creature just a centimeter long with powerful hind legs and bulging eyes. Picker and a student were using a net to sweep the grass in search of flies for a pollination study when they came across the cockroach in 2009. Out of 4,000-5,000 cockroach species, Saltoblattella montistabularis is the only one that jumps. Jumping cockroach is one of the top 10 species discoveries of the year. It is joined in the list of mushroom that glows in the dark, a spider that weaves giant webs, bacteria found on the remains of the Titanic, a fish found in Gulf of Mexico waters affected by the 2010 oil spill, a leech with enormous teeth, a cricket that pollinates a rare orchid, a giant, fruit-eating lizard, and a small antelope from West Africa.