Platycranus Fieber, 1870

Knyshov, Alexander & Konstantinov, Fedor V., 2013, A taxonomic revision of the genus Platycranus Fieber, 1870 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Orthotylinae), Zootaxa 3637 (3), pp. 201-253 : 211

Subgenus Platycranus Fieber, 1870

Type species: Platycranus erberi Fieber, 1870 (by monotypy) Platycranus Fieber, 1870 ; Wagner, 1974 [descr., key to spp .]

Diagnosis. Distinguished by the following combination of characters: labium short, not reaching or slightly surpassing fore coxa; head elongated, with flat vertex and frons; eyes in male large, noticeably protruded above vertex ( Fig. 60 ); vertex male 0.9–1.9 ×, female 2.0–2.7 × as wide as eye.

Discussion. We recognize four valid species within the subgenus Platycranus . The type species, Platycranus erberi is quite distinctive from other species of the subgenus in having a strongly flattened head, and darkened along the midline dorsum. The remaining three species apparently form a closely related group and share several common features, e.g., the characteristic field of spinules on the apex of the genital capsule ( Figs. 75–79 ), and the right paramere with a basal extension (Figs. 110–121).

All species of the subgenus have different hosts and have non-overlapping distributional areas (Fig. 58). Platycranus erberi is widely spread in southern Europe and feeds on Spartium junceum . Platycranus hartigi is known only from Sicily from Genista aetnensis , and P. lindbergi is known only from Canary Islands and nothing is known about its host plant. Finally, P. p u t o n i is widely distributed across the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and feeds primarily on Retama species.

Figures

FIGURES 60 – 73. Scanning electron micrographs of selected characters: 60 – 61 — Platycranus erberi, head and pronotum; 62 – 63 — P. e rb e r i, scent gland evaporatory area; 64 – 65 — P. metriorrhynchus, scent gland evaporatory area; 66 – 69, pretarsus: 66 – 67 — P. m e tr i o r rhy c nh us, 68 – 69 — P. e r b e r i; 70 – 71 — P. p u t o n i, genital capsule; 72 — P. metriorrhynchus, vestiture on the first antennal segment; 73 — P. e r b e r i, vestiture on hemelytron.

FIGURES 74 – 79. Male genital segment in dorsal and caudal views: 74 — P. e r b e r i; 75 — P. h a r t i g i; 76 — P. lindbergi; 77 – 79 — P. putoni, 77 — Libya, 78 — Israel, 79 — Algeria.