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Volcano May Have Killed Off New Bioluminescent Cockroach

Posted by samzenpus on from the shine-on-you-crazy-beetle dept.

terrancem writes "A newly discovered light-producing cockroach, Lucihormetica luckae, may have already been driven to extinction by a volcanic eruption in Ecuador. The species, only formally described by scientists this year, hasn't been spotted since the Tungurahua Volcano erupted in July 2010. The new species was notable because it represented the only known case of mimicry by bioluminescence in a land animal. Like a venomless king snake beating its tail to copy the unmistakable warning of a rattlesnake, Lucihormetica luckae's bioluminescent patterns are nearly identical to the poisonous click beetle, with which it shares (or shared) its habitat."

5 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. No true cockroach... by srussia · · Score: 5, Funny

    could be killed off by a puny volcano!

    --
    Set your phasers on "funky"!
    1. Re:No true cockroach... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Doesn't sound like they were so luckae... *rimshot*

  2. Well obviously... by Mister+Transistor · · Score: 5, Funny

    They were doomed to failure, anyway.

    Their own lights kept scaring them under the refrigerator 24/7!

    --
    -- You are in a maze of little, twisty passages, all different... --
    1. Re:Well obviously... by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Funny

      They were doomed to failure, anyway.

      It's just Mother Nature trying to keep the world in balance. Cockroaches already scare many people as it is. A bioluminescent cockroach would be a little bit too much, I guess. The only worse thing would be a giant carnivorous bioluminescent centipede. If that ever appears in nature, I predict an asteroid strike will wipe it out.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  3. Re:Fireflies? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I thought there were certain species of fireflies that mimicked the patterns of other sub-species to lure unsuspecting victim fireflies to eat. Is there some special reason this doesn't count?

    Fireflies aren't a land animal.

    A mighty seagoing beastie they be!