A case of evolutionary convergence? Striking resemblance between a cockroach (Blattodea) and a frog (Anura) living in bromeliads on the Paria Peninsula, northeastern Venezuela

Recent herpetological explorations carried out in the Serranía de Paria, northeastern Venezuela, allowed the identifica­tion of the bromeliad Glomeropitcairnia erectiflora Mez as a vital refuge for amphibians of the species Phytotriades auratus (Boulenger, 1917), and for cockroaches of the genus Dryadoblatta Rehn, 1930. It should be noted that the presence of the frog Scinax ruber (Laurenti, 1768), a species typically of lowlands, has been previously reported in bromeliads of Cerro El Copey (Margarita Island), but it is likely that the record is a misidentification of P. auratus. The present study also reveals an association between G. erectiflora and a cockroach of the genus Pelmatosilpha Dohrn, 1887. The similar color patterns of P. auratus and a species of Dryadoblatta suggest possible evolutionary convergence or mimicry between an anuran amphibian and a blattodean insect, indicating complex ecological relationships in the region.