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Abstract
The chironomid (Diptera) genus Rheosmittia gen. nov. is validated with the designation of a type-species by Brundin, in this paper. Generic diagnoses are given for larva, pupa, male and female imagines. The western Palaearctic species of Rheosmittia are revised, with lectotype designations for R. spinicornis Brundin and R. languida Brundin and the description and/or redescription of imagines of both these species and of R. halvorseni sp. nov. The larva and pupa of R. spinicornis are described and the possible confusion between the pupae of R. halvorseni and R. languida, both of which are described, is noted.
The systematic placement of Rheosmittia close to Parakiefferiella is confirmed, and a sister-group relationship with Gynnidiocladius and Lopescladius is suggested.
The ecology of the psammophilic (sand-dwelling) larvae of Rheosmittia is briefly discussed, and it is observed that the genus is Holarctic in distribution.