Some years ago Stopes’ recognized that Dawson’s 
Sphenopteris splendens“ was identical with Oligocarpia 
brongniarti Stur” and that Dawson’s specific name held 
priority. Consequently, the species was renamed Oligo- 
carpia splendens. Widston, however, rejected this new 
name and retained the name given by Stur, because the 
figures published by Dawson are of no value. This is the 
usual procedure adopted by paleobotanists. The New 
Brunswick plant, then, is known as O.brongniarti. 
Most of the species of Oligocarpia are of upper Car- 
boniferous age. The rocks of the Pennsylvanian forma- 
tions of northern L[llinois have yielded three species in 
addition to O.vera. A fourth, Oligocarpia flagellaris 
Lesquereux, is to be excluded from this genus; it is better 
known as Sphenopteris flagellaris Lesquereux. The ret- 
erence of this species to the form-genus Sphenopteris re- 
stores to validity the original name used by Lesquereux 
in the Journal of the Boston Society of Natural History 
in 1854 (volume 6, page 420) and in the Geology of Penn- 
sylvania in 1858 (page 862). In the Coal Flora (page 
267), Lesquereux remarked that the habitat is ‘“‘South 
Salem Vein, Tunnel of Sharp Mountain, near Pottsville’ 
[Pennsylvania] and ‘‘no other specimens have been found 
than the one figured.*’ This statement was erroneous, tor 
according to Lesquereux’s manuscript catalogue, he had 
referred specimens from Illinois, West Virginia, and west- 
ern Pennsylvania to this species. 
Lesquereux reported a specimen of Oligocarpia ala- 
bamensis from Morris, Illinois, but this record is in error. 
David White” suggested that it should have been re- 
named and that the specimen belonged rather to O. mis- 
sourtensis. | have seen no specimen from Illinois referable 
to either O.alabamensis or O. missouriensis. Tentatively, 
I record the occurrence of the latter species from Illinois 
on the strength of White’s remarks. 
[ 158 | 
