Quick Answer: What Is the Simandoa Cave Roach?
The Simandoa cave roach (Simandoa conserfariam) is a cockroach that survives in captivity and has not been recorded in the wild since 2002. It was described in 2004 from a single cave near Pic de Fon in the Simandou mountains of Guinea, West Africa, where it lived buried in the bat guano covering the cave floor. The survey that found it, in November 2002, was run because large-scale mining was already planned for the range, and that cave, its only known habitat anywhere on earth, is widely reported to have been lost, though nobody has confirmed it on the ground. Every Simandoa cave roach in captivity descends from one male, three females and several nymphs collected alive on that survey and bred on since. Today it is known only from zoos, laboratories and the collections of hobbyists.
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 November and December 2002 Conservation International ran a rapid biological survey of two sites in the Simandou mountain range in Guinea, a region rich in iron ore that mining companies were already exploring. Among the specimens collected was a cockroach unknown to science, living buried 5 to 30cm down in the 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. The cave lay inside a large mining concession, and it is widely reported to have been lost, though nobody has been back to confirm it. In 2013 Naskrecki himself wrote that it sat on the route of a major road then being built and may no longer exist.
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 in captivity, entirely because people keep it.
The species is widely described as extinct in the wild, although the IUCN has never assessed it and one later worker is on record saying the cave still exists, so treat it as a description rather than a formal status. Either way, it is one of a very small number of animals in that position 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, and nobody has been back to the Simandou range to establish whether the cave survives. Nobody is going to release these animals back into the Simandou mountains.
As far as anyone knows, the species exists only because people keep breeding it: nobody has recorded it in the wild since 2002. If everyone stopped keeping them tomorrow, the captive line would be gone within a couple of years. 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. The two adults measured for the 2004 description were a 30 mm male, measured with its abdomen contracted, and a 39 mm female. Keepers' figures run from 30 to 45 mm and one zoo fact sheet gives 42 to 47 mm. Either way it is a substantial, easily observed roach.
Keeping Them
Here's the pleasant surprise: for an animal with a story this dramatic, they're 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: 24-28°C. They'll live a few degrees cooler, 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: fairly high, around 65-80%. Keep the substrate damp rather than letting it dry out, leave one end a little drier, ventilate well, 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 is widely described as extinct in the wild, but the IUCN has never assessed it, so that is a description rather than a formal category. Nobody has recorded it in the wild since 2002. The single cave in Guinea that was its only known habitat is widely reported to have been lost to mining, but no date is on record and nobody has confirmed it: the man who found the species wrote in 2013 that the cave lay on the route of a major road then being built and may no longer exist. Every Simandoa in captivity descends from animals collected in 2002.
Why did the Simandoa cave roach go extinct in the wild?
Nobody has established that it did. It was known from exactly one cave in the Simandou mountains of Guinea, where it lived buried in bat guano on the cave floor, and that cave is widely reported to have been lost to mining, though nobody has confirmed it. It has never been found anywhere else, although the survey that found it looked at only that one bat cave.
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 24-28°C with a warm end for breeding, a damp enclosure with good airflow, and a scavenger's diet. The main requirements are gentle heat and a secure lid.
How big do Simandoa cave roaches get?
The 2004 description measured one male at 30 mm, with its abdomen contracted, and one female at 39 mm. Keepers' figures run from 30 to 45 mm and one zoo fact sheet gives 42 to 47 mm. Either way it is 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, and nobody has confirmed what is left of the cave. 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 lost to sight 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 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.
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