Simandoa Cave Roach: The Cockroach That's Extinct in the Wild

Quick Answer: What Is the Simandoa Cave Roach?

The Simandoa cave roach (Simandoa conserfariam) is a cockroach that is officially Extinct in the Wild. It was described in 2004 from a single cave in the Simandou mountains of Guinea, West Africa, where it lived on the bat guano covering the cave floor. Within a short time of its discovery, that cave - its only known habitat anywhere on earth - was destroyed by bauxite mining. The species survives today for one reason alone: a handful of live specimens had been collected before the cave was lost, and they were bred in captivity. Every Simandoa cave roach alive today descends from them. It exists in zoos, in laboratories, and in the collections of hobbyists. Nowhere else.

It is also, as it happens, one of the easiest and most rewarding roaches you can keep.

The Story

Very few animals in the pet hobby carry a story like this one, so it's worth telling in full.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, biological surveys were carried out in the Simandou mountain range in Guinea - a region rich in bauxite and iron ore, and therefore of considerable interest to mining companies. Among the specimens collected was a cockroach unknown to science, living in the top layer of bat guano on the floor of a single cave.

It was formally described in 2004 by Louis Roth and Piotr Naskrecki, who named it Simandoa conserfariam. And then, not long after, the cave was destroyed by a bauxite mining operation. No cave, no roaches.

That would normally be the end of the story - a species discovered and lost inside a few years, which is far more common than most people realise. But the researchers had brought live animals back. Those animals bred. Their descendants were passed to other breeders, then to zoos, then to hobbyists. Two decades later, the species is thriving - entirely in captivity, entirely because people keep it.

The IUCN classifies it as Extinct in the Wild. It is one of a very small number of animals in that category that an ordinary person can legally keep at home.

What That Means for a Keeper

It's easy to be sentimental about this, so let me be straight about what is and isn't true.

Keeping Simandoa doesn't make you a conservationist in any formal sense. There's no reintroduction programme - there's nowhere to reintroduce them to, because the cave is gone. Nobody is going to release these animals back into the Simandou mountains.

But the species genuinely does exist only because people keep breeding it. The captive population is the population. That's not marketing - it's simply the situation. If everyone stopped keeping them tomorrow, the species would be gone within a couple of years, and there would be no coming back. Whether that means anything to you is a personal question, but it's a real one, and it's the reason a lot of keepers seek this species out specifically.

What They Look Like

They're a handsome animal, which helps. Adults have a black head edged with a pale, almost white band, and a black abdomen banded with bright yellow. Adults carry speckled grey wings - though despite having them, they cannot fly. They can run, though, and they're quick when startled.

Nymphs start out plain black and develop the yellow banding as they grow, so a mixed-age colony shows a nice progression. Adults reach roughly 42 mm for males and 47 mm for females, which makes them a substantial, easily observed roach.

Keeping Them

Here's the pleasant surprise: for an animal with a story this dramatic, they're genuinely easy. They're peaceful, group-compatible, and forgiving of the sort of husbandry wobbles that would cause problems for a fussier species.

• Enclosure: a ventilated plastic tub is fine. They climb, so a secure, mesh-ventilated lid is essential.
• Temperature: 22-28°C. They'll live at the lower end, but the warmer end (25-28°C) is what gets them breeding. A low-wattage heat mat on a thermostat, fixed to one side, is the usual solution in a UK home.
• Humidity: moderate. Damp substrate at one end, drier at the other, and let them choose.
• Substrate: a few centimetres of soil or coconut fibre with leaf litter on top. Nymphs like to burrow, so give them enough depth to do it.
• Structure: cork bark, egg crate, or stacked bark. Like most roaches they want tight spaces to press into.
• Food: they're detritivores and scavengers. In the wild they ate bat guano; in captivity, leaf litter, rotting wood, fruit, vegetables, and a permanently available dry protein source such as fish flake or dry dog food.

One Thing to Know Before You Buy

Males and females have very different lifespans, and it surprises people. Females live two to three years as adults. Males live only around two to three months after their final moult.

That's not a sign you've done something wrong - it's simply how the species works. If you buy a mixed group and your males start dying off after a few months while the females carry on, that's normal. It does mean a colony needs a steady supply of maturing males to keep breeding, which is another reason to start with a decent-sized group rather than a pair.

Breeding

Simandoa are ovoviviparous, like Madagascar hissers: the female forms an egg case but keeps it inside her body, carrying the developing young internally rather than depositing it. She then gives birth to live nymphs.

Given warmth (25-28°C), food and a settled enclosure, they breed readily. A starter group will produce nymphs without any intervention from you. Given the species' situation, there's something quietly satisfying about a tub of them quietly getting on with it in the corner of a room in Britain.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Simandoa cave roach really extinct?
It's Extinct in the Wild, which is a specific IUCN category - it means no wild population survives, but the species persists in captivity. The single cave in Guinea that was its only known habitat was destroyed by bauxite mining shortly after the species was described in 2004. Every living Simandoa descends from specimens collected before that happened.

Why did the Simandoa cave roach go extinct in the wild?
Bauxite mining. It was known from exactly one cave in the Simandou mountains of Guinea, where it lived on bat guano on the cave floor. That cave was destroyed by a mining operation not long after the species was scientifically described, and it has never been found anywhere else.

Can you legally keep an extinct-in-the-wild cockroach?
Yes. There are no restrictions on keeping Simandoa conserfariam in the UK - the captive population is entirely hobby and zoo-bred and has been for two decades. As with any non-native invertebrate, they must never be released.

Are Simandoa cave roaches hard to keep?
No - they're one of the easier roaches in the hobby. They're peaceful, tolerate group housing, and forgive moderate husbandry mistakes. They want 22-28°C with a warm end for breeding, moderate humidity, and a scavenger's diet. The main requirements are gentle heat and a secure lid.

How big do Simandoa cave roaches get?
Males reach around 42 mm and females around 47 mm - a substantial, easily observed roach with black-and-yellow banding and speckled grey wings. They have wings but cannot fly.

How long do Simandoa cave roaches live?
Females live two to three years as adults. Males live only two to three months after their final moult - a large disparity that catches new keepers out. It's entirely normal, and it's why a colony wants a steady supply of maturing males.

Does keeping them help conserve the species?
In a literal sense, yes - the captive population is the only population there is. There's no reintroduction programme, because the habitat no longer exists. But the species continues to exist purely because people keep breeding it, and that's not a marketing line, it's just the situation.

Where can I buy a Simandoa cave roach in the UK?
Browse our captive-bred Simandoa Cave Roaches, dispatched with a live arrival guarantee, or see the wider cockroaches collection for other display species.

Final Thoughts

I've kept exotic animals for over twenty years, and there aren't many where the animal itself is the least interesting part of the story. This is one. A cave in Guinea, a species described and then erased inside a few years, and a population that now exists solely because a few people thought it was worth the trouble to keep it going.

They're also, genuinely, an easy and rewarding roach - handsome, peaceful, undemanding, and interesting to watch. If you want a display invertebrate that will start a conversation every single time somebody notices it, it's difficult to do better.