Family Delphacidae

Subfamily Asiracinae 

Tribe Platysystatini

Distribution: Ecuador.

Type species (in original combination): Punana breviceps Muir, 1926.

Recognized species

There is a single species in this genus.

Equasystatus breviceps (Muir, 1926) - Described from  a single male specimen from Ecuador (Naranjapata, 1,850 feet, Dec. 1922; Cumanda canton, Chimborazo Province).

Reported Hosts: None. 

Economic Importance: Limited. 

Recognition

This genus erected by Asche (1983), who separated this genus the old world genus Punana Muir, 1913. 

The very wide and short vertex, separated from the frons with a carina, and the 5 carinate mesonotum (with intermediate carinae serpentine) are features of the tribe.

Equasystatus is very similar to Platysystatus and best separated by antennae flattened in cross-section (terete in Platysystatus); frons in frontal view weakly convex and weakly projecting laterally beneath eyes, not covering base of scape (convex between eye and laterally projecting beneath eyes to cover - or nearly cover - the base of scape in Platysystatus).

Equasystatus breviceps - holotype - Thanks to Shepherd Myers, BPBM for photos.

Molecular resources:

At this time, neither Genbank or Bold have any molecular resources for this genus.

Selected references

Asche, M. 1983a. Zur Kenntnis der Gattung Platysystatus Muir, 1930 (Homoptera Auchenorrhyncha Fulgoromorpha Delphacidae). Marburger Entomologische Publikationen 1(8): 107-126.

Asche, M. 1983b. Aufgliederung der Asiracinen-Gattung Punana Muir, 1913: Equasystatus gen. nov. aus Equador und Neopunana gen. nov. von den Karibischen Inseln (Homoptera Auchenorrhyncha Fulgoromorpha Delphacidae). Marburger Entomologische Publikationen 1(8): 127-166.

Emeljanov, A. F. 1996. On the question of the classification and phylogeny of the Delphacidae (Homoptera, Cicadina), with reference to larval characters. Entomological Review 75(9): 134-150. [the PDF is really bad, but it is all I have].

Muir, F.A.G. 1926b. Contributions to our knowledge of South American Fulgoroidea (Homoptera). Part I. The Family Delphacidae. Experiment Station of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association, Entomological Series, Bulletin 18: 1-51, plates 1-5.