Abstract
The blattid genus Protagonista Shelford, 1908, which is tentatively assigned to the subfamily Archiblattinae (= Planeticinae), is reported from China for the first time with illustrations and description of Protagonista lugubris Shelford, 1908. It is a wood-dwelling and potentially a wood-feeding species. The male and female genitalia of Protagonista are described and illustrated for the first time. The species Protagonista pertristis Hanitsch, 1923 is revived from the synonymy of Protagonista lugubris, and the remaining three nominal species that were also considered as synonyms of Protagonista lugubris are now recognized as synonyms of Protagonista pertristis. In agreement with Princis (1965), we propose that Eroblatta Shelford, 1910, a genus closely related to Protagonista, should be placed in the subfamily Archiblattinae rather than Blattinae. However, the taxonomy of Archiblattinae is problematic and awaits revision. Photos and a key to species of Protagonista and Eroblatta are provided, including photos of the holotypes of the synonymized nominal species. In addition, although Planeticinae is the senior synonym of Archiblattinae, the priority of the latter should be maintained since it is in prevailing usage based on the Article 40.2 in ICZN 4th edition.
Highlights
The cockroach subfamily Archiblattinae (= Planeticinae) belongs to the family Blattidae and is distributed in southeast Asia
We report one known species P. lugubris newly discovered from China, distributed in Hainan and Guangxi, of which the male and female genitalia are described in detail for the first time
The name Planeticinae/–idae has been ignored for a long time and the substitute name Archiblattinae/–idae is in prevailing usage since Princis’s (1965) catalogue; the priority of the latter should be maintained based on the ICZN rule 40.2
Summary
The cockroach subfamily Archiblattinae (= Planeticinae) belongs to the family Blattidae and is distributed in southeast Asia. Planeticidae was erected by Walker (1868) based on the genus Planetica Saussure, 1863 This was subsequently synonymized with the genus Archiblatta Snellen van Vollenhoven, 1862 by Saussure (1869). It was Kirby (1904) that established the subfamily Archiblattinae (family: Blattidae) on the basis of the genus Archiblatta, making Planeticidae a synonym. Shelford (1908, 1910) established Protagonista and Eroblatta, respectively, and placed them in the subfamily Blattinae (note all cockroaches were included in Blattidae). The genus Protagonista was established by Shelford (1908) He described Protagonista lugubris from the Manson Mountains, Tonkin (i.e. northern Vietnam) without any description of the male genitalia and designated it as the type species of Protagonista. We deal with the synonymy of Protagonista lugubris based on the examination of holotypes, geographical distribution and original descriptions
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