Order Dictyoptera Superfamily Blaberoidea Scientific name Ectobius Higher classification Ectobiinae | Subphylum Hexapoda Rank Genus | |
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Lower classifications Dusky cockroach, Forest cockroach, Ectobius vittiventris | ||
Ectobius is a genus of cockroaches native to Old World described by Stephens in 1835, belonging to the family Ectobiidae, subfamily Ectobiinae.
Species of this genus are mainly present in most of Europe, in eastern Palearctic ecozone and in the Near East.
The adult 'cockroaches' reach 6–12 millimetres (0.24–0.47 in) of length, the basic coloration of their body is mostly brown or yellowish, with a clearer margin.
The females are usually bigger than the males and have shorter wings, while in the males wings cover at least the whole abdomen.
Some members of the genus occurred in North America until an estimated 49 million years ago, but the genus was absent from the continent until recent reintroductions of some cool-adapted species in eastern Canada and the eastern United States.
List of species
