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Minute to small
(1.5-3.5 mm) acalyptrate flies, with yellow to black, densely
micropubescent body (yellow, grey or brown). Head large with
relatively small eyes; antenna small, arista subbasal, very short
pubescent. Frons with 1-5 pairs of orbital setae (lateroclinate or
reclinate), ocelli and ocellar setae present, postvertical (=
postocellar) setae short, strongly inclinate, absent in Tethina
lusitanica Munari, Almeida & Andrade,
2009;
gena bare or with
sparse, thin setulae (Pelomyiinae), ventrally with more or less
distinct peristomal setae. Face with shining knobs near
vibrissal pore (in West Palaearctic Tethininae). Thorax with a rich
chaetotaxy, including long dorsocentral setae. Tibiae without
preapical dorsal setae. Wing unspotted (except for Tethina
pictipennis Freidberg & Beschovski, 1996
from Morocco and T. lusitanica
from Portugal), with a pale yellow to brownish tinge;
C with subcostal break, Sc distally fused with apex of
R1,
cells bm and dm confluent or separate, cell cup present but small, A1
and A2 absent or unpigmented.
Most of the members of the family are halobionts and/or thalassobionts, strictly
associated with salty habitats, e.g. coastal saltmarshes, seashore
wrack, sandy beaches, shores of inland salt lakes, alkaline springs
etc, and only a few species are also known from habitats that are
apparently without increased salinity (forests, meadows, deserts).
Several species are capable of utilising secondary anthropogenic
habitats, particularly those with alkaline enriched areas (Munari
1998,
Roháček 1992). The preimaginal stages and life-histories of Tethinidae are
largely unknown; some species have been reared from deposits of
seaweed.
The species listed below were formerly (in ECV1) treated within the family
Tethinidae which was recently united with Canacidae by McAlpine (2007).
Altogether 39 species of Canacidae are listed from Europe and adjacent areas in
the Fauna Europaea (Munari 2007,
sub Tethinidae;
Mathis 2007,
sub Canacidae), but this number is no longer accurate due to recently
discovered synonymies (Munari
2006).
Because of the inland position of the Czech Republic and Slovakia,
only four species,
belonging to the subfamilies Tethininae and Pelomyiinae,
are included in the present checklist (three in the Czech
Republic, two in Bohemia, two in Moravia, and four in Slovakia). No species
has been added since ECV1. The family was fully characterised by Mathis and Munari
(1996), Munari (1998)
and Mathis (1998)
who also provided modern keys to genera. There is no comprehensive
identification tool for the European species; those occurring in
Central Europe can be identified using Collin (1966,
largely outdated), Soós (1981), Munari
(1998)
and Munari and Ebejer (2001).
A comprehensive key to all genera and species from Italy and adjacent
territories has recently been published by Munari and Vanin (2007).
All the faunistic data from the Czech Republic and Slovakia were
summarised by Roháček (1992).
The nomenclature used in present checklist follows that in the
Fauna Europaea (Mathis 2007,
Munari 2007),
with changes proposed by Munari (2006).
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