Tethininae, formally the family Tethinidae is a paraphyletic group of tiny drab-coloured or grey

Acalyptratae The Acalyptratae or Acalyptrata are a subsection of the Schizophora, which are a section of the order Diptera, the "true flies". In various contexts the Acalyptratae also are referred to informally as the acalyptrate muscoids, or acalyptrates, a ...

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...

. There are over 115

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in 7

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

known from all zoogeographic regions. They are inconspicuous flies which are still poorly known in some remote, huge, tropical areas (e.g. South America).

Natural history

Tethininae are found in maritime, often

littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

habitats. The adults are sometimes abundant in rotting seaweed. A few species occur inland, in association with alkaline habitats in arid zones. Except for the subantarctic genera ''Apetaenus'' and ''Listriomastax'', little is known about the immature stages of the family, although presumably most are associated with rotting seaweed. Workers in dipterology which are unfamiliar with tethinids often associate these flies with the presence of seashores, particularly sandy beaches and coastal lagoons. This is true for most strictly thalassophilous species, which occur on dunes, sandy soil and wrack heaps stranded on the beach. However, many entomologists often ignore or simply overlook the fact that populations of certain species also inhabit biotopes situated far off from sea littorals, sometimes several hundreds of kilometres inland, and are almost always closely dependent on the proximity of continental saline environments. It is well known that most species, if not all, belonging to the subfamily Pelomyiinae are not thalassophilous flies, but are almost exclusively found inland, associated with meadows, mountain passes, forests, areas and waters polluted by rotting waste, industrial emissions or debris of slaughterhouses and poultry farms (sites of salt accumulation and enrichment), as well as desert oases. However, this is not infrequent in various species of the genus Tethina, too.

Genera

*''

Afrotethina ''Afrotethina'' is a genus of beach flies in the family Canacidae (formally Tethinidae). All known species are Afrotropical The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern ...

'' Munari, 1986 *''

Dasyrhicnoessa ''Dasyrhicnoessa'' is a genus of beach flies in the family Canacidae (formally Tethinidae). All known species are Afrotropical, Neotropical, Indomalayan, or Australasian-Oceanian Oceania ( , ) is a geographical region including Australa ...

'' Hendel, 1934 *''

Plesiotethina ''Plesiotethina'' is a genus of beach flies, insects in the family Canacidae (formally Tethinidae). The only known species, ''Plesiotethina australis ''Plesiotethina'' is a genus of beach flies, insects in the family Family (from ) is a S ...

'' Munari, 2000 *''

Pseudorhicnoessa ''Pseudorhicnoessa'' is a genus of beach flies, insects in the family Canacidae Canacidae, incorrectly Canaceidae, or beach flies, surf or surge flies, is a family of Diptera. As of 2010, 307 species in 27 genera. The family now includes Tethi ...

'' Malloch, 1914 *''

Sigaloethina ''Sigaloethina'' is a genus of beach flies, insects in the family Canacidae (formally Tethinidae). All known species are Australasian Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and s ...

'' Munari, 2004 *''

Tethina ''Tethina'' is a genus of beach flies in the family Canacidae (formally Tethinidae). They are found in all terrestrial biogeographic realms. Biology Like most Tethininae, ''Tethina'' species mostly live in salty environments. They are found on ...

'' Haliday in

Curtis Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of Fren ...

, 1937 *''

Thitena ''Thitena'' is a genus of beach flies, insects in the family Canacidae (formally Tethinidae). All known species are Australasian Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and someti ...

'' Munari, 2004

Subfamily Description

References

Identification (Literature)

* Leander Czerny, Czerny, L. 1928: 55. Tethinidae. In Lindner, E. ''Die Fliegen der Paläarktischen Region'', Bd. VI/1: 1-8, Textfig. 1-7, Stuttgart. *Collin, J.E., 1966. A revision of the Palaearctic species of ''Tethina'' and ''Rhicnoessa''. ''Bolletino del Museo civico di Storia naturale di Venezia'' 16 (1963): 19-32. *Foster, G.A. & Mathis, W.N., 2003. A revision of the genera ''Pelomyia'' Williston and ''Masoniella'' Vockeroth (Diptera: Tethinidae). ''Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology'' 619:63 pp. *Foster, G. A. & Mathis, W. N., 1998. A revision of the family Tethinidae (Diptera) from the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Bermuda. ''Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington'' 100(4): 601-632. *Foster, G. A., and Mathis, W. N., 2000. Notes on Neotropical species of ''Tethina'' Haliday (Diptera: Tethinidae). ''Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington'' 102(3): 542-548. *Foster, G. A. & Mathis, W. N., 2008. A Review of the Genus ''Tethina'' Haliday from Western North America. ''Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington'' 110(2): 300-330. * Hendel, F. 1916. Beitrage zur Systematik der Acalyptraten Musciden (Dipt.). ''Ent. Mitt''. 5: 294-299. *Mathis, W.N. and Munari, L., 1996. World Catalog of the Family Tethinidae (Diptera). ''Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology'' 584: IV + 27 pp. *Mathis, W. N. & Foster, G. A., 2007. Canacidae (Diptera) From the Delmarva States. ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 120(4): 387-428. *McAlpine, D.K., 2007. The Surge Flies (Diptera: Canacidae: Zaleinae) of Australasia and notes on Tethinid-Canacid morphology and relationships. "Records of the Australian Museum" 59: 27-64" *Melander, A.L., 1952. The North American species of Tethinidae (Diptera). ''J. N.Y. Entomol. Soc''. 59: 187-212. *Munari, L. & Mathis, W.N., 2010. World Catalog of the Family Canacidae (including Tethinidae) (Diptera), with keys to the supraspecific taxa. "Zootaxa" 2471: 1-84. (print edition), (online edition). *Przemysław Trojan, 1962 Odiniidae, Clusiidae, Anthomyzidae, Opomyzidae, Tethinidae in (series) ''Klucze do oznaczania owadów Polski'', 28,54/58; Muchowki = Diptera, 54/58 Publisher Warszawa : Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe (in Polish)

Species Lists

West Palaearctic including Russia
Note: The species described for the western Palaeartic Region (in particular for Europe and the Mediterranean river basin) need taxonomic review.
JapanUK
{{Taxonbar, from=Q21224093 Brachycera subfamilies Canacidae Taxa named by Friedrich Georg Hendel