Mimoplatycis Kazantsev 2013
Creators: name: Kazantsev, S. V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cantharidae
Mimoplatycis

description: Genus † Mimoplatycis Kazantsev, 2013
Mimoplatycis Kazantsev, 2013: 288.
type species: Mimoplatycis notha Kazantsev, 2013: 288 (original designation).
Redescription. Male. Alate, flattened, elongate. Head small, subquadrate, semi-exposed. Eyes relatively small, spherical, bulging. Palps small, slender, narrow; ultimate palpomeres noticeably elongate, semi-globular and pointed distally. Antenna 11-segmented, moderately long, filiform; all segments, including scapus, narrow, antennomere 3 somewhat longer than antennomere 2, antennomeres 4–11 subequal in length (Figs 1–3).
Pronotum transverse, trapezoidal, feebly convex anteriorly, with conspicuous H-shaped raised, open anteriorly and posteriorly and interrupted in the middle by a transverse carinae areole. Prosternum short, with relatively broad, subquadrate posterior process. Scutellum triangular. Metaventrite transverse. Elytra elongate, parallel-sided, shining, puncturate, epipleuron short, limited to humeral area; elytral pubescence relatively dense, decumbent. Metathoracic wings fully developed (Figs 1, 2A, 3A, 3B).
Legs relatively long and slender; hind coxae elongate and separated; trochanters small and elongate, attached obliquely to femurs; femurs and tibiae straight, narrow, subequal in length; tibial spurs small, but noticeable; tarsomeres 1–3 narrow, without plantar pads, tarsomere 4 deeply incised; claws simple (Figs 1A, 2, 3B).
Abdomen with six ventrites, first medially interrupted by metacoxae; exposed portion of ultimate ventrite broad proximally, slightly narrowing distally; penultimate ventrite medially not incised (Figs 2B, 3B, 3C).
Aedeagus with elongate free parameres; dorsal plate medially incised (Figs 2B, 3B, 3C).
Female. Unknown.
Remark. As the holotype of Mimoplatycis notha, the type species of the genus, is completely obscured by milky substance from below, some of the characters, especially related to the underside structures, are given after such structures in M. alekseevi sp. nov. and M. perkovslyi sp. nov.
Distribution. Priabonian Danish, East Baltic and Rovno amber.
A key to species of the genus Mimoplatycis
1. Pronotum divided into six areoles by two longitudinal and one transverse carinae, creating an H-shaped raised structure on its disk (Figs 1–3)....................................................................................... 2
- Pronotum divided into two areoles by a single transverse carinae.................... M. marchettii Parisi et Fanti, 2019 *
2. Posterior pronotum angles acute, noticeably produced laterally (Figs 1–3)........................................ 3
- Posterior pronotum angles rounded, not produced laterally............................. M. bicolor Fanti et Vitali, 2017
3. Anterior median pronotal areole with median keel; pronotum noticeably darker than elytra (Fig. 1)..................................................................................................... M. notha Kazantsev, 2013
- Anterior median pronotal areole without median keel; pronotum and elytra almost uniformly dark brown to black (Figs 2, 3). ................................................................................................... 4
4. Body smaller (2.9 mm in length), more elongate, and narrow, elytra ca. 3.3 times longer than wide at humeri; pronotum with distinctly concave sides; ultimate sternite almost as long as wide, rounded distally (Fig. 2)........... M. alekseevi sp. nov.
- Larger (3.7 mm in length) and more robust, elytra ca. 3 times longer than wide at humeri; pronotum trapezoidal, with almost straight sides; ultimate sternite transverse and medially incised (Figs 3, 4A)...................... M. perkovskyi sp. nov.
* The dorsal view photo of M. marchettii is not informative of its pronotal structure, and the description does not provide a line drawing of it (Parisi & Fanti, 2019).
A checklist of Mimoplatycis
1. † Mimoplatycis alekseevi Kazantsev sp. nov. East Baltic amber.
2. † Mimoplatycis bicolor Fanti et Vitali, 2017: 22. East Baltic amber.
3. † Mimoplatycis marchettii Parisi et Fanti, 2019: 120. East Baltic amber.
4. † Mimoplatycis notha Kazantsev, 2013: 288. Danish amber.
5. † Mimoplatycis perkovskyi Kazantsev sp. nov. Rovno amber.
description: Published as part of Kazantsev, S. V., 2025, A review of the fossil genus Mimoplatycis Kazantsev, 2013 (Coleoptera: Cantharidae: Malthininae), pp. 267-274 in Zootaxa 5618 (2) on pages 268-272, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5618.2.5, http://zenodo.org/record/15217816