38 



ee. AuteuiuE filiform ; joints iudistiuct : 



d. Prosteruum spiued Fam. 7. — Acrididie. 



dd. Prosternuiu unarmed Fam. 8. — CEdipodidse. 



B. Claws of the tarsi without pnl villi Fam. 9. — Tettigidre. 



Brii liner de Wattenwyl's plan, of which I have seen but a short abstract,* 

 appears to vary considerably from all the foregoing. It may be indicated by 

 stating that the North American genera, so far as named, would stand as 

 follows ; the first approaching the Phasmidse and the last the Locustidse : 

 Tryxalis, Oxycoryphus, Chrysochraon, Stenobothrus, Gomphocerus, Stau- 

 ronotus, Stetheophyma, CEdipoda, Pyrgomorptia, Tettix, Acridium, Pezotettix, 

 Caloptenus, Platyphyma. Why Pyrgomorpha is taken away from the vicinity 

 of Tryxalis, and placed after Qi^dipoda, and near to Tettix, I cannot possibly 

 imagine, and am inclined to think that Walker has made some error in his 

 list. 



An examination of these different arrangements of the leading divisions 

 of the famil}' will show us that the authors agree in selecting the same lead- 

 ing characters by which to distinguish the principal groups. The first and 

 most prominent of these is the strongly-marked difference between the 

 Tettigi and the rest of the flimily. The extended pronotum, the elevated 

 prosternuin, covered mouth, and absence of pulvilli at once mark this as a 

 separate group in the eyes even of an unscientific observer, each of these 

 characters being peculiar to it, and any one of them sufficient to distinguish 

 it from the rest of the family. This, therefore, will require us to divide the 

 family into two chief divisions, which may very ]n"opcrly be termed suh- 

 families^ Acridin^ and Tettigin^. 



In the Acridinas, which is much the larger portion of the family, the 

 prolongation of the head in front in the form of a cone or pyramid and the 

 usually accompanying oblique face, form the chief characteristics of a large 

 group, and as these reach the maximum in the Proscopini, and are accom- 

 panied by a slender l>ody bearing a strong resemblance to the Phasmidse, 

 they are therefore very properly considered as forming the connecting link 

 with that family. 



So far we experience but little difficulty in our attempts to classify; but 

 as we recede from the Phasmidte in the direction of the Locustidas, the head 

 decreases in length, losing gradually its conical form, the face approaches the 

 vertical position, and one after another of the accompanying characters fades 



* Walk. Cat. Dermap. Salt., V, Supp., 114. 



