The Past 1 3 



some incredulity, but every expert who has examined the specimens 

 has been obliged to admit the correctness of the identification. 

 In 1909 a second species was found, and in 1916 two more, so that 

 we now have four species in all. Scudder's original species (G. 

 oligocena) is the largest, with the wings about 16 mm. long. Next 

 in size is G. veterna, while G. osborni and G. armatipes are smaller 

 insects, with the wings less than eight mm. long. 



On July 22, 1907, Mr. Sievert A. Rohwer was digging at 

 Florissant, and discovered a very extraordinary fossil insect, beauti- 

 fully preserved, with wings outspread. The broad rounded upper 

 wings, which had an expanse of about 64 mm., resembled in a 

 general way those of a dragon-fly. The hind wings, about 44 mm. 

 long, were narrow and strap-shaped, except for a broad rather 

 fiddle-shaped expansion at the end. Mr. Rohwer at once made 

 a sketch, and sent it to me with a letter in which he said: "The 

 above insect caused a great deal of excitement this afternoon just 

 before a severe rain storm. In my limited experience I am at a 

 loss to know what family it belongs to." It was perfectly clear 

 that it represented a family unknown in North America, but did 

 such insects exist elsewhere? On looking the matter up, there 

 was no difficulty in referring the specimen to the Neuropterous 

 family Nemopteridae, well represented in various parts of the 

 old world. The larva, a very extraordinary animal with a long 

 slender neck, has been found about the tombs and pyramids of 

 Egypt. The family was totally unknown in the Western Hemis- 

 phere, except for a single species discovered in Chile. The known 

 distribution of the family had been analagous in some respects 

 to that of the camel group, represented in the Old World, and 

 (by llamas) in the Andean region of South America. Such dis- 

 continuous distribution might appear contradictory to the theory 

 of evolution, but for the fact that Camelidae are known to have 

 abounded in North America, the fossil bones of many species 

 having been discovered. Now the similar anomaly presented by 

 the Nemopterids was made intelligible by the discovery of a fossil 

 species in Colorado. This remarkable fossil was referred to an 

 Old World genus, and named Halter americana. Some years 

 later, Longinus Navas, a Spanish authority on Neuroptera, de- 

 cided that it should be placed in a separate (extinct) genus, 



