BIOLOGY STRUCTURAL ORGANISATION IN ANIMALS

Cockroach

Contents
Cockroach – Habit and Habitat .......................................................................................................................... 3
Morphology of Periplaneta americana ............................................................................................................... 4
Anatomy of Periplaneta americana - Digestive System...................................................................................... 7
Anatomy of Periplaneta americana - Blood Vascular System ......................................................................... 10
Anatomy of Periplaneta americana - Respiratory System ............................................................................... 12
Anatomy of Periplaneta americana - Excretory System ................................................................................... 13
Anatomy of Periplaneta americana - Nervous System ..................................................................................... 14
Anatomy of Periplaneta americana - Reproductive System ............................................................................. 15

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Cockroach – Habit and Habitat

 Cockroaches are brown or black bodied animals.

 Two kinds of cockroaches are Periplaneta americana and Blatta orientalis.

 Systematic Position of Periplaneta americana

o Phylum – Arthropoda
o Class – Insecta
o Order – Dictyoptera
o Family – Blattidae
o Genus – Periplaneta
o Species – americana

 Habitat
 Cockroaches are confined to the tropical regions.
 They are found in damp, dark places.
 They are usually found in places where there is warmth and a lot of organic debris.

 Habit
 Cockroaches are nocturnal and omnivorous.
 They are scavengers.

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Morphology of Periplaneta americana

1. External Features  The body of these cockroaches is narrow, elongated, flattened and
bilaterally symmetrical.
 They measure about 34–53 mm in length.
 They are reddish brown.
2. Exoskeleton  The entire body is covered by hard, chitinous plates called sclerites.
 Sclerites present on the ventral surface are called sternites, and the
ones present on the dorsal surface are called tergites.
 Both sternites and tergites are joined to each other by a thin, flexible
membrane called the arthrodial membrane.
 The exoskeleton is covered by a waxy layer impermeable to water,
which prevents the loss of water from the body.
3. Division of Body  The body is divisible into three regions—head, thorax and abdomen.
 A small, soft and mobile neck connects the head with the thorax.
I. Head  The head is triangular.
 It lies at the anterior end at right angles to the longitudinal axis.

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 The head is formed by the fusion of six segments.

 It shows mobility in all directions because of the presence of a neck.
 It bears two compound eyes.
 A pair of thread-like antennae originates from the membranous sockets
lying in front of the eyes.
 Sensory receptors of antennae help in monitoring the environment.
 Mouth parts are present at the anterior end of the head. They are used
for biting and chewing.
Mouth Parts  The mouth of cockroach consists of the following parts:

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•It is broad and flattened.

Labrum (Upper lip) •It has chemoreceptors on the inner
side.

•A pair is present beneath the labrum.

•They are thick, hard and triangular in
Mandibles shape.
•They bear pointed teeth-like
processes called denticles.

•A pair is present on either side of the

mouth next to mandibles.
Maxillae •They hold food particles between the
mandibles for cutting and chewing.

•This is formed by the fusion of the

second pair of maxillae.
Labium (Lower lip) •It bears tactile and gustatory
receptors.

•It acts as a tongue.

•Covered by the labrum and labium.
Hypopharynx
•The common salivary duct opens at
its basal part.

II. Thorax  It consists of three segments—prothorax, mesothorax and

metathorax.
 Each thoracic segment bears a pair of walking legs.
 The first pair of wings arises from the mesothorax (forewings), while the
second pair of wings arises from the metathorax.
 Forewings are also called tegmina. Tegmina are dark and leathery.
 Tegmina cover the hind wings when at rest.
 The hind wings are transparent and membranous. They help in flight.
III. Abdomen  The abdomen is made of 10 segments.
 In females, the 7th sternum is boat-shaped, which along with the 8th and
9th tergites form a genital or brood pouch.
 The anterior part of the brood pouch contains the female gonopore,
spermathecal pores and collateral glands.
 In males, the genital pouch lies at the hind end of the abdomen.
 The male genital pouch is dorsally bound by the 9th and 10th terga and
ventrally by the 9th sternum. It consists of the dorsal anus, ventral male
genital pore and gonapophysis.
 The male shows the presence of anal styles. Anal styles are absent in
the female cockroach.
 In males and females, a pair of anal cerci is present in the 10th segment.
Anal cerci are jointed and filamentous.

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Anatomy of Periplaneta americana - Digestive System

 The alimentary canal of cockroach is long, tubular and coiled.

 It is mainly divided into three parts—foregut (stomodaeum), midgut (mesenteron) and hindgut
(proctodaeum).

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Parts of the Alimentary Description

Canal
(1) Foregut  It is lined with the cuticle.
(stomodaeum)
Pre-oral cavity

•It is the space in front of the mouth to receive food.

Mouth

•It is narrow and present at the base of the pre-oral cavity.

•It leads to the pharynx.

Pharynx

•It is a short, tubular structure.

•It leads into the oesophagus.

Oesophagus

•Tubular, thin walled.

•Continues into the crop.

Crop

•Sac-like structure.
•It stores food.
•It opens into the gizzard

Gizzard

•Its outer layer is made of circular muscles.

•Its inner layer is in the form of six cuticular chitinous teeth used
to crush food.

(2) Midgut  It is a thin-walled, coiled tube.

(mesenteron)  It is lined with the glandular endoderm.
 At the junctions of the foregut and midgut, there are 6–8 blind hepatic or
gastric caecae which secrete digestive enzymes.
 Internally, it is lined with the peritrophic membrane secreted by the gizzard.
 The peritrophic membrane prevents friction between the wall of the midgut
and food particles.
 Absorption and digestion of food occur in the midgut.

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(3) Hindgut  It is broader than the midgut.

(proctodaeum)  The rectum opens outside the body through the anus.
 It is differentiated into the ileum, colon and rectum.

The digestive enzymes present in the saliva of cockroach are zymase and
amylase.

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Anatomy of Periplaneta americana - Blood Vascular System

 The blood vascular system of cockroach is of the open type.

Parts of the Circulatory Description

System
(1) Blood  Blood is called haemolymph.
 Haemolymph is composed of colourless plasma and haemocytes.
 Haemocytes are amoeboid in shape.
 Because haemolymph does not contain any pigment, it does not play any
role in respiration.
(2) Blood Vessels  Blood vessels are poorly developed.
 They open into the haemocoel.
(3) Haemocoel  It is the body cavity of cockroach.
 Because it is always filled with blood, it is called haemocoel.
(4) Heart  It is an elongated muscular tube.
 It lies along the mid-dorsal line of the thorax and abdomen.
 It is differentiated into 13 chambers.
 Each chamber has ostia on either side.
 The opening between the two chambers is guarded by valves.

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Haemolymph enters the heart through ostia.

When the heart fills, it contracts from behind forwards. This is a systole.

During a systole, the ostia close to prevent the backflow of blood into the haemocoel.

From the anterior end of the heart, blood is pumped into the haemocoel.

It again returns to the heart through ostia.

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Anatomy of Periplaneta americana - Respiratory System

 The respiratory system of cockroach is more efficient than that of earthworm because of the presence
of definite respiratory organs.

 Because atmospheric air comes in direct contact with the respiratory organs, blood has no role to
play here.

Parts of the Description

Respiratory System
(1) Trachea  Tracheae are shiny, transparent and branched air tubes.
 The presence of chitinous rings prevents the collapse of trachea.
(2) Tracheoles  Tracheae divide into fine branches called tracheoles.
 They terminate blindly in tissues.
 The exchange of gases occurs at the tracheoles by diffusion.
(3) Spiracles  Air enters and escapes from the tracheae through the spiracles.
 They are small holes.
 10 pairs of spiracles are present on the lateral side of the body.
 Two pairs of spiracles are thoracic, while eight are abdominal.
 The openings of the spiracles are guarded by sphincters.

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Anatomy of Periplaneta americana - Excretory System

 Cockroach is a uricotelic animal.
 The following structures in cockroach help in excretion:

•100-150 tubules are present at the junction of the midgut and

hindgut.
Malpighian
•Each tubule is lined by glandular and ciliated epithelia.
tubules
•They convert all nitrogenous wastes into uric acid and excrete
through the hindgut.

•They are present in the haemocoel.

Fat bodies
•They contain solid lobules.

•Present in the lateral wall of the heart.

Nephrocytes
•Help in excretion and storage of nitrogenous waste.

Uricose glands •In the males of some species, these glands synthesise uric acid.

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Anatomy of Periplaneta americana - Nervous System

 The nervous system of cockroach consists of a series of fused ganglia.
 These ganglia are joined by paired longitudinal connectives on the ventral side.
 Three ganglia lie in the thorax and six in the abdomen.
 The brain is represented by the supra-oesophageal ganglion present in the head.
 Supra-pharyngeal ganglion supplies nerves to the antennae and compound eyes.
 From the supra-pharyngeal ganglia runs backwards a double ventral nerve cord which bears a
series of fused ganglia.

 The different sense organs present in cockroach are antennae, compound eyes, maxillary palps,
labial palps and anal cerci.

Mosaic Vision

 In cockroach, the compound eyes are present at the dorsal surface of the head.
 Each eye consists of about 2,000 ommatidia.
 Each ommatidium is a biconvex lens or cornea.
 An image is formed by the eyes by the composition of several adjacent images
received by the ommatidia. Such vision is called mosaic vision.
 In such vision, images are sharp but seen separately and only in bright light.

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Anatomy of Periplaneta americana - Reproductive System

 In cockroach, the sexes are separate, i.e. they are dioecious.

Male Reproductive System

Parts of the Male Description

Reproductive System
(1) Testes  A pair of testes is present.
 Each testis lies on the lateral side in the 4th to 6th abdominal segments.
(2) Vasa deferentia  From each testis arises a vas deferens.
 Each vas deferens is thin and opens into the ejaculatory duct through the
seminal vesicle.
(3) Ejaculatory duct  It opens into the male gonopore which is on the ventral side of the anus.
(4) Mushroom gland  It is a characteristic feature of the male cockroach.
 It is present in the 6th and 7th abdominal segments.
 It functions as an accessory reproductive gland.
(5) Seminal vesicles  They are small vesicles associated with the mushroom glands.
 They store sperms.
 During copulation, sperms glued together forming bundles called
spermatophores are discharged.

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Female Reproductive System

Parts of the Female Description

Reproductive System
(1) Ovaries  Two ovaries are present.
 Each ovary lies on the lateral side from the 2nd to 6th abdominal
segments.
 Each ovary is formed of eight ovarian tubules or ovarioles.
 Each ovariole contains a chain of developing ova.
(2) Oviducts  Oviducts are tube-like structures.
 Oviducts from each ovary unite to form the vagina or the median
oviduct.
 The vagina opens into the genital chamber.
(3) Spermathecae  A pair is present in the sixth segment.
 It opens into the genital chamber.

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 Sperms are transferred through spermatophores.

 The fertilised eggs are enclosed in a capsule called oothecae.
 Oothecae are dark reddish to blackish brown and about 8 mm long.
 When dropped, they attach to a suitable surface such as cracks or crevices.
 Usually oothecae are dropped in places with high humidity and near food resources.
 On an average, a female cockroach produces 9 to 10 oothecae containing 14 to 16 eggs.
 Development:
o The development of Periplaneta americana is through the nymphal stage.
o Nymphs emerge from the ootheca.

o It resembles the adult cockroach in structure but lacks wings and mature reproductive organs.
o The next to last nymphal stage has wing pads but not wings.
o The nymph undergoes moulting for about 13 times before reaching the adult stage.

Economic Importance
 Cockroaches are not economically important.
 They thrive in and around human habitats.
 Because they destroy food and contaminate them with their excreta, they are considered pests.
 By contaminating food material, they may also transmit certain bacterial diseases.
 They may produce obnoxious smell in kitchens and stores.
 They may damage household materials such as clothes and shoes.

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