334 SAMUEL II. SCUDDER ON THE 



earlier origin of its inferior branch, and the much wider space between it and the main 

 vein filled with stout, arcuate branches. 



Propteticus infernus, sp. nov. PL 31, figs. 3, 4. 



Head subquadrate, rounded behind and apparently a little broader than in front, nearly 

 half as long again as broad, very slightly arched above, the eyes and antennae not Appearing 

 on the stone ; the mouth-parts are nearly as long as the head itself, but do not admit of 

 any clear separation of the parts; apparently, however, they consist of three pairs of very 

 similar, single-jointed, moderately stout blades. 



Prothorax similar in shape to the head, but a little larger, subquadrate with rounded an- 

 gles, and apparently no broader behind than in front, transversely arched like the head, with 

 a slight median carina obliterated in the centre. The head could apparently be partly with- 

 drawn beneath it, since it seems to have been preserved in that condition, as the illustrations 

 show, the front margin of the prothorax appearing to cut the head in halves in fig. 4, where 

 it best appears ; while in fig. 3 the hinder edge of the head is seen embraced at the sides by 

 the edges of the prothorax, as is seen better still upon the stone. The front legs appar- 

 ently are indicated by the scars on either side of the stone, especially by that on the left 

 side of fig. 4 and its reverse, where a tibial joint appears to be marked. The legs are 

 shown by this to have been rather short and very slender ; toward the base of the de- 

 tached scar of the right leg, in fig. 4, is seen the end of a slender femur, which appears even 

 slenderer in the reverse (left side of) fig. 3. 



The mesothorax is of a very strange form when taken in connection with the prothorax ; 

 it is half as broad again as long, and the wings are attached next the hinder margin, 

 while the parts in front taper, as has been said, to the size of the prothorax, which is 

 considerably less than half the posterior width of the mesothorax ; the front margin is 

 roundly excised as if forming a socket for the movement of the prothorax, and the taper- 

 ing sides are gently convex ; the surface does not appear, as in the parts in front, to be 

 regularly arched, but to be furnished with coarse bosses, especially in the medial portions. 

 Its legs are shown only on one side, and that very obscurely, indicating a length about 

 the same as that of the front pair. 



The dimensions of the metathorax cart only be judged by the size of the legs and wings, 

 the hind wings being ampler than the front pair, and the hind legs longer, so far as can be 

 told from the scars, than either of the others ; it can hardly be narrower than the meso- 

 thorax, and in all probability was of the same width ; its legs, or rather the fracture-scars 

 indicating where they were, are preserved on both sides of the body, and a basal fragment 

 of that of the right side (in fig. 4) is actually preserved, showing again that they were very 

 slender, compressed, and of considerable length, or much longer than either of the otber 

 pairs. 



The indications of the abdomen are very vague, but show it to have been slender, nearly 

 as broad at tip as the prothorax, and provided with a pair of rather slender, tapering, 

 pointed anal appendages about as long as the mouth-parts. 



Front wings broad, more than three times as long as broad, oblong oval, the middle half 

 or more equal or very nearly equal, the apex very regularly rounded ; costal margin a lit- 



