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Leaping cockroach jumps as high as a grasshopper (with video)

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Gaborn

Member
If you like to avoid cockroaches, it may be rather difficult to stay clear of Saltoblatella montistabularis, a species that can jump. Malcolm Burrows of the University of Cambridge, UK and his team are investigating how far the roaches can leap and found that they can jump a distance of 35 centimetres, or about 48 times their own body length.

Lab studies revealed that the cockroaches experience accelerations of up to 23 g. "If you place one is in a glass vial and it jumps, you can hear a ting noise as it hits the top of the container," says Mike Picker, a member of the team. They have evolved enormous hind legs much like those of grasshoppers, allowing them to jump in a similar fashion and rely on hopping as their main form of locomotion.

The species was first spotted on Table mountain in South Africa in 2006. It was formally described for the first time last year.

Journal reference: Biology Letters, DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.1022

Story Here

Video at the link.
 

RevDM

Banned
Wow, talk about a life altering video. It was so powerful, gripping, awe inspiring. Truly marvelous.
 
D

Deleted member 81567

Unconfirmed Member
Chairs won't save you now, ladies.
 

Angry Fork

Member
Chairs won't save you now, ladies.

iX2405tg2rVBz.gif
 

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
lol what is going on here?
And this is awful, but nothing beats a flying roach. NOTHING. Most terrifying things ever.

Yeah. Luckily I haven't had roaches in my home since I moved in 3 years ago. But as a child, we had a home in the middle of the woods and man...roaches were a major problem along with rodents. Flying roaches were the worst.
 

Switters

Member
Women gaf in full force up in here. It's a damn cockroach.

This can't be overstated. I come into threads to see cool bugs and am immediately embarrassed by the self-emasculation. Nothing to do with women mind you, but complaining about a bug certainly has nothing to do with being a man.
 

Orayn

Member
KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT

If I ever live somewhere with these, I will build a computerized system that uses a high speed camera to track monstrosities like this and shoot them with a laser. It will keep me safe.
 
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