- Tethinidae
Taxobox
name = Tethinidae
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Arthropod a
subphylum =Hexapoda
classis =Insect a
subclassis =Pterygota
infraclassis =Neoptera
superordo =Endopterygota |
ordo = Diptera
subordo =Brachycera
zoosectio =Schizophora
zoosubsectio =Acalyptratae
superfamilia =Carnoidea
familia = TethinidaeTethinidae (included now into the family Canacidae s.l.) is a family of tiny drab-coloured or grey acalypterate flies (
Diptera ) . Over 160species in 17 genera are 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
Tethinidae are found in maritime, often littoral 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.
Family Description
See [http://delta-intkey.com/britin/dip/www/tethinid.htm]
Identification (Literature)
Czerny, L. 1928: 55. Tethinidae. In Lindner, E. "Die Fliegen der Palaearktischen 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.
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.
Melander, A.L. ,1952. The North American species of Tethinidae (Diptera). "J. N.Y. Entomol. Soc". 59: 187-212.
pecies Lists
* [http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=10967 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.
* [http://www.nearctica.com/nomina/diptera/dipt-z.htm#anchor89111 Nearctic]
* [http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/aocat/tethin.html Australasian/Oceanian.]
* [http://konchudb.agr.agr.kyushu-u.ac.jp/mokuroku/ Japan]Other
The type genus of the family is "Tethina" Haliday 1838
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