The monophyly of the subfamily Perisphaeriinae (Dictyoptera: Blattaria: Blaberidae)

A new definition of the subfamily Perisphaeriinae is given on the basis of five synapomorphies described from male and female genitalia and head morphology. The subfamily comprises eighteen genera: Bantua , Compsagis , Cyrtotria , Derocalymma , Ellipsica , Elliptoblatta , Gymnonyx , Hostilia , Laxta , Neolaxta , Perisphaeria , Perisphaerus , Pilema , Platysilpha , Poeciloblatta , Pseudoglomeris , Trichoblatta , Zuluia . Two genera are newly assigned to the Perisphaeriinae: Laxta and Neolaxta . Four genera are removed from the Perisphaeriinae: Aptera , Blepharodera , Eustegasta , Isoniscus . One new generic synonymy is proposed: Pronaonota as a synonym of Pilema . The subfamily has a large geographical range including tropical Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Asia and Australia.