Canacidae -a/o Catalog

Australasian/Oceanian Diptera Catalog -- Web Version

Go to A/O Catalog Home Page

103. Family CANACIDAE (including Tethinidae)
[Originally] by Wayne N. Mathis


The family Canacidae, more commonly known as beach flies, comprises slightly more than 300 described species that occur primarily along seashores where their larvae develop on marine algae. In Hawaii, Nepal, New Guinea, and Zaire some species of the genera Procanace and Isocanace have adapted secondarily to freshwater habitats.


Beach flies are small in size, mostly less than 3 mm, rarely more than 5 mm, and are generally subdued in coloration, grayish to brownish. Superficially, they resemble some Ephydridae and, for many years, were considered a subfamily of that family. Canacidae and Tethinidae were recently merged (McAlpine 2007).


Refs.: Williams (1938a, biol.), Wirth (1951, keys, rev.), Mathis (1982, keys, rev.), McAlpine (2007, classification).

Genus APETAENUS Eaton

APETAENUS Eaton, 1875: 58. Type species: Apetaenus litoralis Eaton, 1875, mon.
MACROCANACE Tonnoir & Malloch, 1926a: 5. Type species: Milichia littorea Hutton, 1902, orig. des.
australis Hutton, 1902a: 174 (Ochtiphila). NZ (Campbell I); NZ (Antipodes Is).
    antipoda Harrison, 1953: 276 (Macrocanace). NZ (Antipodes Is).
litoralis Eaton, 1875: 58. Kerguelen Is; Crozet Is.
littoreus Hutton, 1902a: 174 (Milichia). NZ (Antipodes Is); NZ (Bounty Is).
watsoni Hardy, 1962b: 965. Macquarie I.

Genus CANACEOIDES Cresson

PROCANACE Curran, 1934b: 160. Type species: Procanace panamensis Curran, 1934a, orig. des. [Preocc. Hendel, 1913.]
CANACEOIDES Cresson, 1934: 221. Type species: Canace nudata Cresson, 1926, orig. des.
NEOCANACE Curran, 1934d: 357 (n. n. for Procanace).
angulatus Wirth, 1969: 556. Hawaiian Is [introduced]; Galapagos Is, Mexico, Peru.
    nudatus, authors, not Cresson, 1926, misid.
hawaiiensis Wirth, 1969: 561. Hawaiian Is.
mcalpinei Mathis, 1996; 330. Australia (NSW).


Genus CHAETOCANACE Hendel

CHAETOCANACE Hendel, 1914a: 98. Type species: Canace biseta Hendel, 1913, orig. des.
brincki Delfinado, 1975: 221. Sri Lanka; Australia (NSW, Qld, WA).
flavipes Mathis, 1996: 332. PNG (PNG); Australia (WA).
koongarra Mathis, 1996: 334. Australia (NT).
longicauda Mathis, 1996: 334. Australia (NT); Australia (Qld).

Genus DASYRHICNOESSA Hendel

DASYRHICNOESSA Hendel, 1934b: 38. Type species: Rhicnoessa fulva Hendel, 1913, orig. des.
aquila Munari, 2002: 540. Pitcairn Is.
atripes Munari, 2004: 34. Australia (NSW).
bicolor Munari, 2002: 542. Fiji.
boninensis Sasakawa, 1995: 58. Bonin Is; Volcano Is.
celata Munari, 2010: 61. PNG (PNG).
ciliata Munari, 2004: 34. Australia (NT).
clandestina Munari, 2002: 540. New Caledonia (New Caledonia); Fiji, Hawaiian Is, ?New Caledonia (New Caledonia).
dolichopoda Munari, 2014: 283. Solomon Is.
ferruginea Lamb, 1914: 367 (Rhicnoessa). Seychelles; Australia (Qld), French Polynesia (Marquesas), PNG (PNG), Pitcairn Is; Hong Kong, Philippines.
    lasiophthalma Malloch, 1933b: 17 (Tethina). French Polynesia (Marquesas).
fulva Hendel, 1913: 110 (Rhicnoessa). Taiwan; Hawaiian Is; Oman, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates.
fulvescens Malloch, 1935d: 93. Australia (Qld).
humilis
Munari, 2004: 34. Australia (NSW); Australia (Qld).
insularis
Aldrich, 1931: 395 (Tethina). Wake I; American Samoa, Australia (Qld), Belau, Easter Is, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawaiian Is, Kiribati (Line Is), Marshall Is, Micronesia, Pitcairn, PNG (Bismarck Arch, PNG), Vanuatu; Belize, Brazil, Afrotropical Reg, West Indies.
longisetosus Munari, 2004: 38. PNG (PNG); Australia (Qld).
macalpinei Munari, 2004: 40. Australia (NT).
mathisi Munari, 2002: 547. Easter I.
ostentatrix Munari, 2004: 40. Australia (NSW); Australia (Qld, Vic).
pallida Munari, 2004: 42. Australia (Qld).
priapus Munari, 2004: 44. Australia (Qld).
serratula
Malloch, 1935d: 94. Australia (Qld).
sexseriata Hendel, 1913a: 110 (Rhicnoessa). Taiwan; Australia (Qld), Belau, Guam, Marshall Is, Micronesia, PNG (Bismarck Arch, PNG), Tonga, Wake I; Hong Kong, Philippines.
    asymbasia Sasakawa, 1995: 56. Micronesia.
tripunctata Sasakawa, 1974: 2. Philippines; Australia (Qld), Belau, Guam, Micronesia, PNG (Bismarck Arch, PNG); Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak), Ryukyu Is.
    phyllodes Sasakawa, 1995: 64. Belau.
vockerothi Hardy & Delfinado, 1980: 373. Hawaiian Is; Australia (NSW, NT, Qld), Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Is, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, PNG (Bismarck Arch, PNG), Wake I; Japan, Malaysia (Sarawak), Philippines, Ryukyu Is, Seychelles, Sri Lanka.

Genus DYNOMIELLA Giordani Soika

DYNOMIELLA Giordani Soika, 1956: 130. Type species: Dynomiella arenicola Giordani Soika, 1956 [= Canace stuckenbergi With, 1956], orig. des.
australica Mathis, 1996: 336. Australia (Tas).


Genus ISOCANACE Mathis


ISOCANACE Mathis, 1982: 11. Type species: Isocanace briani Mathis, 1982, orig. des.
albiceps Malloch, 1925f: 87 (Canace). Australia (NSW); Australia (Qld, Tas).
crosbyi Mathis, 1999: 349. NZ (NZ).

Genus NOCTICANACE Malloch


NOCTICANACE Malloch, 1933b: 4. Type species: Nocticanace peculiaris Malloch, 1933, orig. des.
australina Mathis, 1996: 329. Australia (NSW).
kraussi Munari, 2010: 53. Cook Is.
marshallensis Wirth, 1951: 272. Marshall Is.
peculiaris Malloch, 1933b: 4. French Polynesia (Marquesas); French Polynesia (Austral Is, Gambier Is), Northern Marianas; Ryukyu Is.
zimmermani Wirth, 1951: 272. French Polynesia (Austral Is).

Genus PELOMYIA Williston

PELOMYIA Williston, 1893b: 258. Type species: Pelomyia occidentalis Williston, 1893, mon.
steyskali Hardy & Delfinado, 1980: 375. USA; Hawaiian Is; ?Canada.
    coronata, authors, not Loew, 1866, misid.


Genus PLESIOTETHINA Munari

PLESIOTETHINA Munari, 2000: 238. Type species: Plesiotethina australis Munari, 2000, orig. des.
australis Munari, 2000: 240. Australia (WA).

Genus PROCANACE Hendel


PROCANACE Hendel, 1913a: 93. Type species: Procanace grisescens Hendel, 1913, orig. des.
acuminata Hardy & Delfinado, 1980: 389. Hawaiian Is.
bifurcata Hardy & Delfinado, 1980: 392. Hawaiian Is.
confusa Hardy & Delfinado, 1980: 394. Hawaiian Is.
constricta Hardy & Delfinado, 1980: 396. Hawaiian Is.
gressitti Delfinado, 1970: 527. PNG (PNG).
grisescens Hendel, 1913a: 93. Taiwan; PNG (PNG); Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, Ryukyu Is, Seychelles, Thailand.
hardyi O’Grady & Pak, 2016: 5. Hawaiian Islands.
nigroviridis Cresson, 1926a: 277. Hawaiian Is.
novaeguineae Delfinado, 1970: 529. Indonesia (Irian Jaya).
quadrisetosa Hardy & Delfinado, 1980: 401. Hawaiian Is.
townesi Wirth, 1951: 255. Marshall Is.
williamsi Wirth, 1951: 257. Hawaiian Is [introduced]; Japan.
wirthi Hardy & Delfinado, 1980: 404. Hawaiian Is.

Genus PSEUDORHICNOESSA Malloch

PSEUDORHICNOESSA Malloch, 1914: 306. Type species: Pseudorhicnoessa spinipes Malloch, 1914, mon.
MACROTETHINA Malloch, 1935d: 91 (Tethina subg.). Type species: Tethina tibiseta Malloch, 1935, orig. des.
longicerca Munari, 2014: 289. PNG (PNG).
spinipes Malloch, 1914: 307. Taiwan; Australia (NT, Qld), Belau, Guam, Marshall Is, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, PNG (PNG); Japan, e. Oriental Reg.
    tibiseta Malloch, 1935d: 91 (Tethina). Australia (Qld).


Genus SIGALOETHINA Munari

SIGALOETHINA Munari, 2004: 46. Type species: Sigaloethina phaia Munari, 2004, orig. des.
endiomena Munari, 2005: 592. Australia (Qld).
thaia Munari, 2004: 47. Australia (NSW); Australia (NT, Qld).

Genus TETHINA Haliday

TETHINA Haliday in Curtis, 1837b: 293. Type species: Opomyza illota Haliday, 1838, subs. mon. Haliday, 1838: 188. [Published in synonymy; first made available in Haliday, 1838: 188.]
RHICNOESSA Loew, 1862c: 174. Type species: Rhicnoessa cinerea Loew, 1862 [= Anthomyza grisea Fallén, 1823], mon.
PHYCOMYZA Melander, 1952a: 198. Type species: Rhicnoessa milichioides Melander, 1913, orig. des.
albula Loew, 1869: 44 (Rhicnoessa). USA; Hawaiian Is; widespread Nearctic, Neotropical.
hirsuta Munari, 2000: 244. Australia (WA).
horningi Harrison, 1976: 143. NZ (NZ).
nigriseta Malloch, 1924f: 337. Australia (NSW); Australia (Qld, Vic).
ochracea Hendel, 1913a: 109 (Rhicnoessa). Taiwan; Australia (WA); Bermuda, Bulgaria, Canary Is, Cape Verde Is, Chile, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Madeira, Malta, Mexico, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, USA.
orientalis Hendel, 1934: 47 (Rhicnoessa). Taiwan; Guam; Hong Kong, Ryukyu Is.
pallidiseta Malloch, 1935d: 92. Australia (NSW); Australia (Tas, Vic, WA).
pallipes Loew, 1865: 37. Greece; Hawaiian Is; India, Taiwan, widespr. Palaearctic, s. Afrotropical Reg, West Indies.
sexseriata Hendel, 1913a: 110 (Rhicnoessa). Taiwan; Fiji.
willistoni Melander, 1913: 298 (Rhicnoessa). USA; Hawaiian Is; wisepsr. Neotropical Reg.
    variseta Melander, 1952, misid.

Genus TETHINOSOMA Malloch

TETHINOSOMA Malloch, 1930m: 335. Type species: Agromyza fulvifrons Hutton, 1901, orig. des.
fulvifrons Hutton, 1901: 93 (Agromyza). NZ (NZ).


Genus THITENA Munari

THITENA Munari, 2004: 50. Type species: Thitena cadaverina Munari, 2004, orig. des.
cadaverina Munari, 2004: 51. Austrlaia (WA).


Genus TRICHOCANACE Wirth


TRICHOCANACE Wirth, 1951: 252. Type species: Trichocanace sinensis Wirth, 1951, orig. des.
atra Wirth, 1964b: 227. Australia (Qld); Australia (NT, WA), Philippines, Thailand.
marksae Wirth, 1964b: 226. Australia (Qld).
sinensis Wirth, 1951: 253. China; Australia (Qld); Madagascar, Malaysia (Pen), Thailand.


Genus XANTHOCANACE Hendel


XANTHOCANACE
Hendel, 1914a: 98. Type species: Canace ranula Loew, 1874, mon. des.
DINOMYIA Becker, 1926b: 107. Type species: Canace ranula Loew, 1874, mon.
MYIOBLAX Enderlein, 1935a: 235. Type species: Canace ranula Loew, 1874, mon.
collessi Mathis, 1996: 345. Australia (WA).
nigrofrons Malloch, 1924f: 334. Australia (NSW); Australia (Qld, Tas, WA).


Subfamily ZALEINAE
Genus ZALEA McAlpine


ZALE McAlpine, 1982b: 108. Type species: Zale minor McAlpine, 1982, orig. des. [Preocc. Hübner, 1818.]
ZALEA McAlpine, 1985a: 82 (n. n. for Zale).
horningi Harrison, 1976: 143 (Tethina). NZ (NZ).
minor McAlpine, 1982b: 110 (Zale). Australia (NSW).
major McAlpine, 1982b: 112 (Zale). Australia (NSW).


This page last revised 13 April 2016