BY R. J. TILLYARD. 



733 



of sending so valuable a specimen by sea. This specimen is 

 absolutely perfect, as far as my memory of it goes, and is the 

 property of one of Mr, Siissmilch's students at Newcastle. The 

 specimen stolen from Mr. Mitchell was also, T gather, a perfect 

 specimen of this or a closely allied genus. It would appear, 

 therefore, that the Mecoptera were quite abundantly represented 

 in the fauna of the Permian Coal-Measures at Newcastle. As 

 there has not been, up to the present, a single fossil Holometa- 

 bolous Insect described from any Palaeozoic strata, the discovery 

 of these insects is of outstanding importance, suggesting, as it 

 does, that the Mecoptera may prove to be the most ancient of 

 all Holometabolous Insects. In this connection, it will be neces- 

 sary for special search to be made for the elytra of Coleoptera 

 in the Belmont and Newcastle beds: since, if such existed at 

 that period, they will almost certainly soon be brought to light. 

 The two species described here under this genus are clearly 

 closely allied, and it is even possible that they may really be the 

 fore- and hindwing respectively of a single species. 



Text-fig. 4. 

 Permochorista amtralka, n.g. et sp., wing (length S'omm.). Belmont; 

 * Permian. 



Pekmochouista australica, n.sp. (Text-fig.4). 

 An almost c(miplete wing, 8-5 mm. long, with only the costa, 

 subcosta, and the portion of the base of the wing missing. The 

 impression is a good one, upon the smooth surface of a dark grey 



