Platyacarus Kudon 1982

Genus Platyacarus Kudon, 1982a

The genus currently includes 13 species (Kudon 1982b; Hernandes et al. 2007) associated with passerines of the Neotropical family Dendrocolaptidae (woodcreepers). They are rather typical proctophyllodines with moderately elongated bodies, and can be distinguished from other proctophyllodine genera by the following combination of characters: in both sexes, setae ve are absent, epimerites I are normally fused into a U, setae f2 are absent (present in P. minor); in males, the opisthosomal lobes are short and provided with terminal lamellae of triangle or tongueshaped form; the aedeagus is ensiform; the genital arch is small and with strongly divergent branches; the adanal shields are represented by one or two pairs of small sclerites, setae g and ps3 are arranged into longitudinal rectangle, legs III and IV are subequal. Proctophyllodes minor Berla, 1959a is herein transferred to the genus Platyacarus.