Abstract
The genus Platesthes Waterhouse, 1845 (Pimeliinae: Praocini), distributed in the Patagonian steppes in southern Argen- tina and Chile, is revised. A phylogeny of its 13 species is proposed, based on 48 morphological characters. The cladistic analysis provides one most parsimonious cladogram showing that three unambiguous synapomorphic characters of external morphology and male genitalia support the monophyly of Platesthes. This article includes a redescription of the genus, redescriptions of its species, an identification key, habitus photographs of the most representative species, illustrations of external morphology, genital features and metendosternites, a cladogram and distribution maps. A discussion of the biogeography and status of conservation of Platesthes in the Patagonian steppes and in Central Chile is presented. A new Platesthes species is described: P. neuquensis sp. n. and P. hir- tipes Kulzer, 1962 stat. n. is elevated to species status. Other valid species of the genus are: P. depressa (Guerin-Meneville, 1841), P. similis Kulzer, 1956, P. unicosta Kulzer, 1956, P. nigra Kulzer, 1956, P. pilosa Kulzer, 1956, P. vidali Pena, 1986, P. burmeisteri Haag-Rutenberg, 1877, P. granulipennis Kulzer, 1956, P. kuscheli Kulzer, 1958, P. humeralis Kulzer, 1958 and P. silphoides Water- house, 1845 (type species), for which a lectotype is designated.
Highlights
The genus Platesthes Waterhouse, 1845 belongs to the Praocini, an endemic Neotropical tribe of Pimeliinae with 139 species arranged in 12 genera, which inhabit arid and semiarid lands of southern South America (Kulzer, 1958; Flores, 2000a, 2001)
This study provides a revision of the genus using characters of male and female genitalia, which are diagnostic at the generic and specific levels within the Praocini (Flores, 2000a, b, 2001) and internal skeletal anatomy, of which drawings of the metendosternite of several species of a genus of Praocini are presented for the first time
The second clade includes the remaining nine species of Platesthes, in which the relationships are resolved and some of its subclades are supported by the character states punctures on the frons (6.2, 6.3) and pronotum (15.2, 15.3, and 15.4), which are unique within the Praocini
Summary
The genus Platesthes Waterhouse, 1845 belongs to the Praocini, an endemic Neotropical tribe of Pimeliinae with 139 species arranged in 12 genera, which inhabit arid and semiarid lands of southern South America (Kulzer, 1958; Flores, 2000a, 2001). The last revision of the tribe was made by Kulzer (1958) and a new revision is needed because one genus was not-monophyletic (Flores, 2000a), other genera were recently transferred from the Nycteliini to the Praocini (Flores, 2001) and many species still remain undescribed, some of which belong to undescribed genera. The only revision of the genus, based exclusively on external morphology, was made by Kulzer (1956), who described five new species and gave a reduced distribution for the species. The hundreds of specimens in studied collections, gave an accurate geographic distribution of each species
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
