Description of the Fossil Insects. 



BY R. J. TILLY ARD. 

 1. INTRODUCTION. 



THIS paper deals with a number of fossil insects from Denmark 

 Hill at Ipswich, and St. Peter's near Sydney, and also individual 

 specimens from Goodna near Ipswich, and from Duaringa on the 

 Queensland Central Railway line ; these were forwarded to me 

 for study in October, 1913, by Mr. B. Dunstan, Chief Government 

 Geologist of Queensland, to whom I desire to express my deep 

 indebtedness for the privilege of being allowed to examine such an 

 interesting collection. 



The collection of fossils principally consists of two very distinct 



groups from different localities, viz. : (1) specimens from the Ipswich 



Coal Measures, South Queensland, and (2) specimens from the 



Wianamatta Shale of the St. Peter's Brickworks, Newtown, Sydney, 



New South Wales. About three-fourths of the specimens of insects are 



from the former beds. Besides the vindoubted remains of insects, 



there were a few doubtful specimens, which have not been determined 



satisfactorily, owing to lack of definite characters. These have been 



omitted from the paper. The consignment also contained a large 



number of specimens of a fine Peracarid Crustacean from St. Peter's, 



two specimens of a Zygopterid Dragon-fly larva from a bore at 



Duaringa in Central Queensland, and an Osmylid from Goodna, near 



Brisbane. Some of the crustacean specimens, all of which appear to 



belong to a single species, are in a fine state of preservation, but 



their description would be out of place in this paper, and hence they 



have been omitted. 



The first examination of these fossils indicated that the Ipswich 

 specimens are, fortunately, both varied and abundant, and in the 

 best state of preservation for study and description. The grain of 

 the Ipswich shales and sandstone is fairly fine, so that the fossils, 

 though sometimes rather faintly impressed upon the rock, offer 

 the ideal conditions for study by strong oblique light. By this 

 means the various sets of cross-veins in the wing venation can be 

 brought into relief. The main veins in almost all cases show a 

 characteristic structure, and are easily followed. 



The St. Peter's fossils, on the other hand, are nearly all preserved 

 in a hard, somewhat brittle, blackish rock of very uneven cleavage 



