Family Delphacidae

Subfamily Asiracinae 

Tribe Platysystatini

Distribution: Brazil.

Type species (in original combination): Platysystatus brunneus Muir, 1930.

Recognized species

There are two species in this genus.

Platysystatus brunneus Muir, 1930 - Described from  a single male specimen from Rio Negro, Sao Gabriel, Brazil (Jan. 1924).

Platysystatus itapetingus Asche, 1983 - Described from a single specimen Itapetinga, Bahia State, Brazil (Nov. 1969).

Reported Hosts: None. 

Economic Importance: Limited. 

Recognition

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.

A new species of Platysystatus was described by Asche 1983a.  Equasystatus was described by Asche 1983b.  Platysystatus is very similar to Equasystatus and best separated by antennae rounded in cross-section (this is hard to see; flattened in Equasystatus); frons in frontal view convex between eye and laterally projecting beneath eyes to cover (or nearly cover) the base of scape (frons weakly convex and weakly projecting laterally beneath eyes, not covering base of scape in Equasystatus.

Platysystatus brunneus- holotype - Thanks to Gunvi Lindberg (Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden) for the 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.

Muir, F.A.G. 1930f. On some South American Delphacidae (Homoptera, Fulgoroidea). Entomologisk Tidskrift 51(3-4): 207-215.