Apetaeninae Mathis & Munari, 1996

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 (1), pp. 27-64 : 42-43

Subfamily Apetaeninae Mathis & Munari, 1996

Included genus: Apetaenus Eaton. See Mathis & Munari (1996) for bibliographic data and list of species.

Autapomorphies: mid one of three fronto-orbital bristles further from eye than others; costa curved just before subcostal break (apparent only in macropterous forms); facial sclerotization sharply divided by complete median membranous strip (partial desclerotization only in some Tethininae and Zaleinae ); area of wing membrane behind vein 6 and distad of alula reduced (apparent only in macropterous forms); syntergite 1 + 2 in female longer than rest of abdomen (condition approached in a few Canacinae ).

Shared apomorphies: prelabrum enlarged (shared with Canacinae ); terminal tarsomere triangular with median terminal bristle on a tubercle, with broad excavation on each side which forms a depression on dorsal surface (see Fig. 27; this condition approximated in some Canacinae , e.g., Nocticanace arnaudi Wirth , Fig. 28); vein 6 long and conspicuous (shared with Horaismopterinae ); membranous strip separating tergites 1 and 2 in mid-dorsal region lost (shared with most Canacinae ); cercus of female shining, without pruinescence (microtrichia) between setulae or almost so (shared with some Canacinae ; cercus extensively pruinescent in all other subfamilies).

Distribution: oceanic islands south of 45°S.

Listriomastax Enderlein was synonymized under Apetaenus by Hennig (1971), but Papp (1983) said that these two genera “are not closely related,” without giving reasons. Macrocanace Tonnoir & Malloch was synonymized under Apetaenus by Mathis & Munari (1996).

Macrocanace can be retained as a subgenus of Apetaenus to include A. (Macrocanace) australis (Hutton) and A. (Macrocanace) littoreus (Hutton) . The subgenus includes consistently macropterous flies, with a series of long dorsal setulae on vein 1, the humeral bristle relatively large, and the setulae on abdominal tergites relatively short and inconspicuous—all character states contrasting with those of Apetaenus (Apetaenus) litoralis Eaton , the type species of Apetaenus . I do not have material for deciding if there are grounds for retention of Listriomastax as a subgenus. Apetaenus litoreus (Enderlein, 1909) is a secondary junior homonym of Apetaenus littoreus (Hutton, 1902) under Article 58.7 of ICZN (1999). I prefer not to introduce a replacement name for the former, until I feel assured of the stable congeneric status of the two species.