Diversity of cockroaches in Velliangiri hills of Coimbatore district in southern Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Rich faunal diversity, diverse climatic zones, landscapes and forms a contiguous territory of evergreen and semi-evergreen woodland, high altitude sholas, grassland, replete with exceptional biological diversity and endemism in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu. In the present study is confined to a major range in the Velliangiri hills of the Western Ghats that is rich in the Cockroach diversity and indigenous population. There are about 5000 known species worldwide belonging to 445 genera under 6 families. The present work is based on series of collections made from Velliangiri hills by the authors. In this study we have recorded, 714 examples of cockroaches were collected and belonging to 21 species accommodated under 17 genera in 4 families. This is a first time consolidated report of the cockroach fauna from the Velliangiri Hills.