Guyanan Forestslater

When seen from above, L. platycephala resembles L. exotica, in the soft, weakly articulated body and the posteriorly narrowing outline at the back tropics. However, the abdomen is proportionally smaller in Ligia platycephala. Also, the L. platycephala is considerably smaller than L. exotica. In the original description, the properties of this species are described by comparing to L. exotica.

It will suffice to mention the remaining differences between this species and L. exotica. If we may judge by the specimens available, it is considerably smaller; the largest one (a female with well-developed marsupial plates bearing a considerable number of rather large eggs or embryos) is a little less than 18 mm. long. The largest male is about 16.5 mm. long. The colors are brighter and more variegated, though due to similar minute irregularly stellate or branching blackish pigment spots on a yellowish ground color. They are however so distributed in the present species as to form a distinct, broad, blackish median stripe on both the thorax and abdomen, and on the thorax also a series of large, somewhat rectangular obliquely placed blackish spots at the junction of the epimeral portion of the segments with the main portion. …

The species' descriptions position it in Guyana. Specimens have been collected in the jungle of Kartabo. More recent observations aggregated in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility suggest that the species can also be found in Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela