Glomerexis Bey-Bienko, 1938

Li, X. - R., 2021, Redescription of cockroach Pseudoglomeris (Glomerexis) tibetana (Bey-Bienko, 1938) (Blattaria: Blaberidae: Perisphaerinae) from China, Far Eastern Entomologist 442, pp. 7-12 : 9

Subgenus Glomerexis Bey-Bienko, 1938 , stat. resurr.

Type species: Glomerexis tibetana Bey-Bienko, 1938 .

COMPOSITION. Three species from China: P. (G.) tibetana (Bey-Bienko, 1938), P.

(G.) semisulcata Hanitsch, 1924 and P. (G.) angustifolia (Wang et Che, 2011).

REMARKS. Pseudoglomeris tibetana is closely related to two species from Yunnan

Province, China, namely, P. semisulcata and P. angustifolia, especially the latter (see photos and description of type specimens in Wang & Che, 2011; Li et al., 2018). They are the only known flightless Pseudoglomeris species, the males of which do not have fully developed wings, while the males of other species (if known) are macropterous. Remarkably, these three species do not have the virga sclerite, in contrast to all other Pseudoglomeris species and even all other Perisphaerinae (Roth, 1973; Li et al., 2018). In terms of habitat, these species are all found in arid alpine areas, with altitude ca. 2000–3800 m. In comparison, other species of Pseudoglomeris are mainly found in tropical and subtropical areas with low altitude.

Pseudoglomeris tibetana, P. semisulcata and P. angustifolia likely constitute a unique group adaptive to the environment of eastern Xizang and Hengduan Mountains; the absence of virga sclerite may suggest that this group is monophyletic, rather than results from ecological convergence. Anisyutkin (2003) and Li et al. (2018) speculated that Glomerexis may be a subgenus of Pseudoglomeris, but no conclusion was drawn because the male genitalia of the genotype G. tibetana were unknown. The male genitalia of P. tibetana are described and illustrated below and Glomerexis is regarded as a subgenus of Pseudoglomeris.