S. H. SCUDDER ON PALAEOZOIC COCKROACHES. 37 



lation between the insect world and the plant world, by which the former finds its prin- 

 cipal nourishment in the latter. Such a food-plant for the palaeozoic cockroach he would 

 discover in the tree-like Noeggerathia, or the Cordaites of the period ; just as the ally of 

 the former, the sago palm, furnishes food to the cockroaches of to-day. Heer also relates, 

 in his essay on fossil cockroaches, that the botanical garden at Zurich accidentally imported 

 from Cuba cockroaches in all stages of development in stems of Cycads, and thereupon 

 suggests that Noeggerathia might very probably have been the food of palaeozoic cock- 

 roaches. I have also described a species of Platyzosteria (P. sabalianus) which lives in the 

 tops of the cabbage palmetto, Sabal 'palmetto. We thus arrive at some indications of the 

 manner of life of these ancient creatures. 



Heer believes the scantiness of our knowledge of fossil cockroaches to be due to the 

 slight attention that has been paid to them, and that in the mass of plants which have been 

 exhumed from the coal beds, many more will be found when these have been carefully ex- 

 amined with this in view. At the time he wrote not a single species of cockroach had been 

 found in more than one spot (and at Wettin and Manebach they formed almost or quite 

 the only insects found there) while many species of plants were common to the different 

 beds from which cockroaches had been exhumed. Notwithstanding the considerable in- 

 crease of our knowledge since that time, this is almost as true now as then. 



In this paper we have discussed almost exclusively the front wings of the palaeozoic 

 cockroaches. In an appendix, however, those species which have been described from 

 other fragments are reviewed and the descriptions put into an English dress. These species 

 are Blattina Tischbeini, Bl. latinervis and Bl. venosa, described from hind wings or very im- 

 perfect remnants of fore wings ; and Polyzosterites granosus, a wingless species. Acridites 

 earbonaria, first described by Germar as the wing of a saltatorial orthopteron and subse- 

 quently considered by him as the hind wing of a cockroach, possibly of Etobl. didyma, and 

 so catalogued up to the present time, appears rather to be a neuropterous wing and there- 

 fore is not discussed here. Besides these a couple of obscure fragments from the American 

 rocks are briefly noticed but without name. It only remains to give an alphabetical list of 

 the former and present names of palaeozoic cockroaches, and the bibliography of the sub- 

 ject, before taking up the species in detail. 



SVXONYMICAL TABLE OF HITHERTO DESCRIBED PALAEOZOIC COCKROACHES. 



Archimylaeris acadicum Scudd. = Archimylaeris acadicum. Blattina euglyptica Gold. fig. 9. = Gerablattina producta. 



Blattidium mantidioides (Sold. = Etoblattina mantidioides. Blattina euglyptica var. vveissiana Gold. = Gerablattina 

 Blattina affinis Gold. = Etoblattina affinis. weissiana. 



Blattina anaglyptica Germ. = Etoblattina anaglyptica. Blattina fascigera Scudd. = Gerablattina fascigera. 



Blattina anaglyptica var. labachensis Gold. := Etoblattina Blattina flabellata Germ. (Miinst). = Etoblattina flabellata. 



labachensis. Blattina flabellata Germ. (Wettin). == Gerablattina Miin- 

 Blattina anthracopliila Germ. = Etoblattina anthracophila. steri. 



Blattina antbracophila Gein. = Etoblattina flabellata. Blattina Fritsebii Heer. = Progonoblattina Fritschii. 



Blattina bretonensis Scudd. = Mylacris bretonense. Blattina Geinitzi Gold. = Gerablattina Geinitzi. 



Blattina earbonaria Germ. = Etoblattina earbonaria. Blattina German (Giebel) Heer. = Gerablattina Germari. 



Blattina clathrata Heer.= Gerablattina clatlirata. Blattina Goldenbergi Mahr. = Gerablattina Goldenbergi, 



Blattina didyma Germ. = Etoblattina didyma. Blattina gracilis Gold. = Petrablattina gracilis. 



Blattina didyma Gein. = Anthracoblattina sopita. Blattina Heeri Scudd. =: Mylacris Heeri. 



Blattina dresdensis Gein.-Deichm. := Anthracoblattina dres- Blattina. helvetica Heer. = Progonoblattina helvetica. 



densis. Blattina iiiMgnis Gold. = Etoblattina tnsignis. 



Blattina euglyptica Germ. = Etoblattina euglyptica. Blattina intermedia Gold. = Gerablattina intermedia. 



Blattina euglyptica Gold. fig. S. = Etoblattina Dohrnii. Blattina labachensis Gold. = Etoblattina labachensis. 



