Tethina strobliana (Mercier, 1923)

Rhicnoessa strobliana Mercier, 1923: 18 [“ Espagne (Algeciras, Alicante), France (côte du Calvados; mare saumâtre à Bénouville, dune de Courseulles, juin-juillet)”; ST (sex?), MNHN].

Distribution. Afrotropical: Oman. Palaearctic: Azores, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece (Crete), Hungary, Israel, Italy (including Sardinia), Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malta, Poland, Portugal (Madeira), Russia (Sea of Azov), Slovakia, Spain (including Balearic Islands), Syria, Tadjikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.

Remarks. A common, halophilous species closely allied to T. soikai . The diagnostic characters given in the above key will allow identifying this species correctly. The primary type of Tethina strobliana needs examination in order to fix precisely the concept of this taxon. Indeed, a large range of variation occurs at the genitalic level (Munari, 2006). This is a primarily Palaearctic species, reaching to the south the Arabian Peninsula (Oman). Additional findings of T. strobliana from the Arabian countries will help to confirm the establishment of this species in that vast area, especially in the transition zone between the Afrotropical Region and the West Palaearctic territories.