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.