Perisphaerus Audinet-Serville, 1831

Li, Xin-Ran, Wang, Li-Li & Wang, Zong-Qing, 2018, Rediscovered and new perisphaerine cockroaches from SW China with a review of subfamilial diagnosis (Blattodea: Blaberidae), Zootaxa 4410 (2), pp. 251-290 : 255

Genus Perisphaerus Audinet-Serville, 1831

See Li & Wang (2016) for citations.

Diagnosis. Nymphs and females can roll up into a ball, like pill millipedes (Glomerida) and pill bugs ( Armadillidiidae ). Middle and hind femora without spines at dorsocaudal margin (morphologically ventrocaudal). Males almost indistinguishable from those of Pseudoglomeris , but the pronotum strongly convex.

Further description. Nymphs’ and females’ dorsum strongly convex, vertical section across body semicircular, pronotum shaped 1/4 spherical surface. Head hidden, width approximately 1/3 to 1/4 of body width; eyes large, joining each other or almost joint. Front femur type C1.

Distribution. Oriental Region.

Chinese species. Three Perisphaerus species were recorded from China. We remove Pe. semilunatus Hanitsch recorded by Anisyutkin (2003), since the described characters cannot distinguish Pe. semilunatus from other species, and its type locality, southern Vietnam, is somewhat far from China.