The American Cockroach is about one and a half inches. They are reddish brown. Roach mouths work vertically, not horizontally like ours. They have six hairy legs and eighteen knees. All American roaches, like most Americans, were immigrants. There is no where on the planet that doesn't have local roaches. In colder climates, however, they survive by shaking up with humans. Roaches can go for a month without eating. They identify other friend and family roaches by their distinctive odor.("Roach Facts.")
A cockroach can hold their breath for 40 minutes. They spend 75 percent of their time just resting. It is possible for a female roach to mate once and then spend the remainder of her life pregnant. Their hearts are nothing but a simple tube with valves that pumps blood forwards and backwards. If the heart stops moving it does not harm the creature. A cockroach can live one week without a head. Even then they only die from lack of water because they have no mouth. Not because they have no head. So it stands to reason that if they had an alternative way to drink water, they could go on forever without a head.("Yucky: Roach Facts.") I doubt that human's will affect the survival of the roach. They are real survivors. Some experts believe that they could survive the fallout of a nuclear war. They also reproduce quickly so I don't think a shoe is any threat to them in the long run.
Works Cited
"Roach Facts." Roach Motel. Web. 08 Sept. 2010. http://www.roachcom.net/rofacts/
"Yucky: Roach Facts." The Yuckiest Site on the Internet. Web. 08 Sept. 2010. http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/roaches/pg000097.html
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