''Gromphadorhina oblongonota'' is one of four roach species in the genus ''
Gromphadorhina'',
which is one of several genera collectively known as hissing cockroaches; like all members of the tribe
Gromphadorhini, they are from the island of
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. They are common in the pet trade, where they are known as "wide-horned hissers" and their scientific name is frequently misspelled as either ''oblongata'' or ''oblongonata''. This species is difficult to distinguish from the common ''
G. portentosa'' and is commonly confused with it,
although ''oblongonota'' tends to be significantly larger and somewhat darker than ''portentosa''.
As pets
All four known ''Gromphadorhina'' species are widely kept as exotic pets, with ''G. portentosa'' being arguably the most common. Many pet dealers, unaware of the fact that there are four species in the genus, classify their stock as ''portentosa'', even though they are selling ''oblongonota'', mixtures of ''portentosa'' and ''oblongonota'', or hybrids of these two species.
References
Cockroaches
Endemic fauna of Madagascar
Insects described in 1973
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