Celatoblatta is a genus of cockroaches in the family Blattidae with species from Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.[1] "Celato" means concealed and the members of this genus are all small, fast-moving nocturnal species that hide during the day under bark and rocks.[2] In Australia the genus is known as hooded cockroaches, after the distinctive way the seventh abdominal tergite extends over the ninth and tenth like a hood.[1]

Celatoblatta
Celatoblatta undulivitta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattodea
Family: Blattidae
Subfamily: Polyzosteriinae
Genus: Celatoblatta
Johns, 1966

The genus was significantly revised by Peter Johns in 1966,[3] and Karlis Princis later added several species from Australia, New Guinea, and New Caledonia.[4][5] Phylogenetic studies, however, suggested the resulting genus was not monophyletic,[6][7] although the 14 New Zealand members of Celatoblatta as defined by Johns do seem to form a monophyletic group.[8][9][10]

The New Zealand Celatoblatta are all flightless with short or very short tegmina.[3] They have 7 or 8 instars, with overlapping generations and eggs laid all year. Eggs are laid in brown capsules called oothecae which protect the 10–14 developing nymphs.[2][11] Most New Zealand Celatoblatta species live in native forest, but four prefer high elevations above the tree line.[8][3] Australian species are mostly restricted to Queensland, and are generally shiny black with small tegmina and wings.[1] New Zealand species are generally brown with lighter patches on the thorax, although colour is often variable within a species.[3]

The Otago alpine cockroach Celatoblatta quinquemaculata has been the subject of many studies due to its ability to survive freezing down to -9 °C[12][13] and it is one of the few species where intercellular freezing is thought to allow ice crystals to reach beyond the gut to the haemolymph.[14][15]

Celatoblatta currently contains the following species:[7][16]

In a 2022 revision of the group Celatoblatta was moved to the subfamily Polyzosteriinae; Celatoblatta shelfordi (Shaw, 1925), C. quadriloba (Mackerras, 1968) and C. baldwinspenceri (Mackerras, 1968) were assigned to the genus Austrostylopyga, which was resurrected after being previously synonymised with Celatoblatta; and C. marksae (Mackerras, 1968) was moved back to Temnelytra.[7]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Rentz, David C. (2014). A guide to the cockroaches of Australia. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing. pp. 118–119. ISBN 9780643103207.
  2. ^ a b Zervos, S. (1984). "Seasonality in a field population of two New Zealand cockroaches (Blattodea)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 11 (3): 307–312. doi:10.1080/03014223.1984.10428242. ISSN 0301-4223.
  3. ^ a b c d Peter M. Johns (1966). "The cockroaches of New Zealand". Records of the Canterbury Museum. 8 (2): 93–136. ISSN 0370-3878. Wikidata Q125308748.
  4. ^ Princis K (1970). Blattarien von den Inseln Rennell und Bellona. The Natural History of Rennell Island, British Solomon Islands 6: 31–37.
  5. ^ Princis K (1971) Blattariae: Subordo Epilamproidea. Fam.: Ectobiidae. In: Beier M (Ed.) Orthopterorum Catalogus, Pars 14. W. Junk, 's-Gravenhage, 1041–1224.
  6. ^ Malem, Julien; Robillard, Tony; Cluzel, Dominique; Bellier, Loïc; Nattier, Romain; Grandcolas, Philippe; Legendre, Frédéric (2023). "Origins of old lineages in New Caledonia: A geologically informed test of the island-hopping hypothesis". Journal of Biogeography. 50 (9): 1587–1601. Bibcode:2023JBiog..50.1587M. doi:10.1111/jbi.14673. ISSN 0305-0270.
  7. ^ a b c Djernæs, Marie; Murienne, Jérôme (2022). "Phylogeny of Blattoidea (Dictyoptera: Blattodea) with a revised classification of Blattidae". Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny. 80: 209–228. doi:10.3897/asp.80.e75819. ISSN 1864-8312.
  8. ^ a b Morgan-Richards, Mary; Marshall, Craig J.; Biggs, Patrick J.; Trewick, Steven A. (2023). "Insect Freeze-Tolerance Downunder: The Microbial Connection". Insects. 14 (1): 89. doi:10.3390/insects14010089. ISSN 2075-4450. PMC 9860888. PMID 36662017.
  9. ^ Goldberg, Julia; Trewick, Steven A. (2011). "Exploring Phylogeographic Congruence in a Continental Island System". Insects. 2 (3): 369–399. doi:10.3390/insects2030369. ISSN 2075-4450.
  10. ^ Chinn, Warren G.; Gemmell, Neil J. (2004). "Adaptive radiation within New Zealand endemic species of the cockroach genus Celatoblatta Johns (Blattidae): a response to Plio-Pleistocene mountain building and climate change". Molecular Ecology. 13 (6): 1507–1518. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02160.x. ISSN 0962-1083. PMID 15140094.
  11. ^ Zervos, S. (1987). "Notes on the size distribution of a New Zealand cockroach, Celatoblatta vulgaris". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 14 (2): 295–297. doi:10.1080/03014223.1987.10422998. ISSN 0301-4223.
  12. ^ Block, William; Wharton, David A.; Sinclair, Brent J. (1998). "Cold tolerance of a New Zealand alpine cockroach, Celatoblatta quinquemaculata (Dictyoptera, Blattidae)". Physiological Entomology. 23 (1): 1–6. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3032.1998.2310001.x. ISSN 0307-6962.
  13. ^ Sinclair, Brent J. (2001). "Field ecology of freeze tolerance: interannual variation in cooling rates, freeze-thaw and thermal stress in the microhabitat of the alpine cockroach Celatoblatta quinquemaculata". Oikos. 93 (2): 286–293. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0706.2001.930211.x. ISSN 0030-1299.
  14. ^ Worland, M. R.; Wharton, D. A.; Byars, S. G. (2004-02-01). "Intracellular freezing and survival in the freeze tolerant alpine cockroach Celatoblatta quinquemaculata". Journal of Insect Physiology. 50 (2): 225–232. doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2003.12.001. ISSN 0022-1910. PMID 15019525.
  15. ^ Sinclair, Brent J.; Renault, David (2010). "Intracellular ice formation in insects: Unresolved after 50years?". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology. 155 (1): 14–18. doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2009.10.026. PMID 19878734.
  16. ^ Beccaloni, G. W. "Genus Celatoblatta Johns, 1966". Cockroach Species File. Retrieved 4 April 2024.

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