Platytibia Ding

Platytibia Ding, 2006: 333 . Type species. Platytibia ferruginea Ding, 2006, by monotypy.

Description. Medium-sized, reddish brown to dark brown delphacids. Vertex apically rounded, about as long as wide at base, submedian carinae of vertex in apical half and median carina of frons obsolete, fastigium obtusely rounded. Fore and middle tibia foliaceous. Calcar tectiform, with distinct and compact teeth on inner margin. Male pygofer with plate-like process at each side of lateroventral margin (Figs 16, 18). Parameres contiguous at basal half, convergent distally (Figs 16, 25). Aedeagus tubular, reflected cephalad at subapex with broad flag-like process (Fig. 20). Genital diaphragm narrow, with a caudally directed armature (Fig. 19). Suspensorium Y-shaped (Fig. 21), articulated with aedeagus (Fig. 20). Male anal segment ring-like, laterodistal angles produced into two well separated processes (Fig. 24).

Remarks. The monotypic genus Platytibia was established by Ding (2006) within the tribe Delphacini, to accommodate his new species Platytibia ferruginea collected from Hainan, the southernmost province in China. Based on features of the male genitalia of the type species, Platytibia is here placed in the subtribe Numatina. Presence of an articulated suspensorium is indicative of this subtribe based on the definition of Emeljanov (1993).

The genus Platytibia belongs to a large group of taxa around Platypareia Muir (1934), Peliades Jacobi (1928), Phyllodinus Van Duzee (1897) and Asiracina Melichar (1912), all of which have foliately expanded femora and tibia of the fore- and midlegs. However, Platytibia differs from these genera by having a rounded apex of the head, lacking a submedian carinae of the vertex in apical half, lacking a median carina of the frons and lacking the median process on the midventral margin of the pygofer (Figs 16, 18). It also differs from Platypareia and Peliades by the distally convergent parameres (Figs 16, 25) and from Platypareia by the strongly produced processes of the anal segment (Fig. 24).

Distribution. Species of Platytibia are currently known only from southern China (Hainan Province).