Taxon classification Animalia Diptera Psychodidae

Psychoda (Tinearia) alternata +Say, 1824

Literature record.

Wagner (2004).

New record.

Esporles, town fountain, 39.669519°N, 2.576953°E, 10.ii.2015, G.Kvifte leg. 1♀ (ZMFK).

Remarks .

Tinearia Schellenberg, 1803 was treated as a genus by Wagner (2004) following Ježek (1977). This species group is undoubtedly monophyletic, however based on morphology and some analyses of molecular data it appears to be deeply nested within Psychoda s.l. (Vaillant 1990, Espindola et al. 2012, Kvifte and Andersen 2012, Kvifte unpubl.). Inclusion of Tinearia as a subgenus within Psychoda would thus allow ease of identification of monophyletic units, whereas recognising Tinearia as a separate taxon would render Psychoda paraphyletic. For a discussion of the monophyly criterion in supraspecific taxonomy, see Komarek and Beutel (2006).