Cockroach species from alpine and forest habitats are not monophyletic within the Celatoblatta radiation of Aotearoa New Zealand

Among the Aotearoa New Zealand radiation of 14 flightless Celatoblatta cockroaches, some species are confined to forest habitat and some to alpine habitat. We examine the phylogenetic relationships of the New Zealand cockroaches, including endemic and invasive taxa in subfamily Polyzosteriinae, using DNA sequences from the entire mitochondrial genome, and nuclear ribosomal DNA and histones. The New Zealand Celatoblatta radiation is monophyletic within our sampling and sister to representatives of genera endemic to New Caledonia. Our phylogenetic analyses suggest that habitat use is not constrained within a monophyletic group in this genus. We estimated that the most recent common ancestor of the New Zealand Celatoblatta was alive during the early or mid-Miocene. If the radiation of New Zealand Celatoblatta had begun before the development of alpine landscape in New Zealand (∼8–5 Mya), then it is more likely that adaptations to alpine environments have evolved multiple times rather than being the ancestral state of this lineage. We describe two additional New Zealand cockroach species: Celatoblatta johnsi sp. nov. from North Island forests and Celatoblatta pata sp. nov. from southern South Island snow tussock habitat.