Posted by ESant on 26-06-2024 12:43
#1
Hello,
I found several of these flies on the seashore in Balaclava, Mauritius, on April 21st 2024. In this case I'm not even sure of the family they may belong to. Is it possible to identify them?
Thank you in advance,
Emanuele
Edited by ESant on 27-06-2024 20:54
Posted by John Carr on 27-06-2024 15:38
#6
Based on the 2010 world catalog of Canacidae by Munari and Mathis (
https://doi.org/1...a.2471.1.1) this should be
Pseudorhicnoessa rattii. That is the only species of Tethininae recorded from Mauritius. The setulose scutellum and bristled mid tibia point to
Pseudorhicnoessa instead of
Tethina.
That species was described in
Munari, L. (1981b) Sul genere
Pseudorhicnoessa Malloch, 1914 (Diptera Tethinidae). Società Veneziana di Scienze Naturali - Lavori, 6, 91–96.
There is a newer paper I have not seen:
Munari, Lorenzo. 2014. New Indo-Pacific species of
Dasyrhicnoessa Hendel, 1934 and
Pseudorhicnoessa Malloch, 1914 (Diptera: Canacidae: Tethininae). Zootaxa 3784(3)
https://www.biota...a.3784.3.8
Posted by ESant on 27-06-2024 20:53
#7
Thank you very much John! Aside from
P. rattii, other Tethininae are reported from Mauritius in Munari et al. (2020) "The beach flies of the Mascarene Islands (Diptera: Canacidae: Tethininae)". Anyway, given the features you pointed out I agree with your identification.