A new species group within tethina haliday (diptera: tethinidae) with descriptions of six new mediterranean species

Six new species of Tethinidae (Tethina acrostichalis, guttata, pictipennis, quadricephala, shalom, and yaromi) are described from Mediterranean countries. These species, together with T. alboguttata (Strobl) and T. karatasensis Munari, constitute a (new) monophyletic group (the alboguttata group) based on three apomorphies: scutellum darkly maculated; crossveins r-m and dm-cu pale and surrounded by pale areas; and female cerci with spines ("pseudacanthophorites")- The relevance of these species to the need to preserve sand dune habitats in Israel and elsewhere is discussed.