OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 167 



X. 



DICTYONEURA AND THE ALLIED INSECTS OF THE 

 CARBONIFEROUS EPOCH. 



By Samuel H. Scudder. 



Communicated December 10th, 1884. 



The re-cent discoveries of Mr. Charles Brongniart in the insect fauna 

 of Commentry, France, liave thrown a flood of light over the obscu- 

 rities of the carboniferous epoch. Wings of a type which all writers 

 had agreed were at any rate neuropterous, and referred to a spe- 

 cial genus, Dictyoneura, are found by him attached to bodies which 

 are clearly orthopterous, and of a specialized group, which one would 

 scarcely have looked for in ancient times. Additional species now 

 occur from time to time, and the number of forms referred to Dic- 

 tyoneura is constantly growing. Others allied to them have been 

 referred, and are still being referred, to other genera, and to still 

 other divisions of Neuroj^tera. 



Under these circumstances, and because a number of new American 

 types need to be brought into their proper place, I have thought 

 best to offer a brief synopsis of those carboniferous forms heretofore 

 discovered, (with a few additional ones from this continent,} which 

 may be referred to the ancient Phasmida. 



Among them will be found nearly all the species heretofore referred 

 to the Termitina from the European coal measures, for a careful study 

 shows that the white ants were not at all represented in pala;ozoic 

 times, so far as the forms yet discovered show. Most of those which 

 have been considered Termitina belong rather here, (they have already 

 in several instances been referred here,) while others belong to other 

 groups of Neuroptera than Termitina. 



A fuller memoir on this subject, with detailed descriptions and full 

 illustrations, will be given at an early day. 



The genera may be separated in the following manner : — 



L Wings moderately slender, scapular nervure branched ... 2 

 1. Wings very slender or pointed, scapular nervure simple . . . 5 



