OQA [February, 



Silurian age at Jurques, Calvados, France, no longer leaves the question 

 of the occurrence of insects at an earlier period than the Devonian a 

 matter of uncertainty. 



In a note recently communicated by M. Milne-Edwards to the 

 Academic des Sciences of Paris,* M. Charles Brongniart describes the 

 wing of a species of Blatta from the Middle Silurian formation of 

 Jurques. 



The piece of rock containing this fossil was received from M. 

 Douville, Professor in the Paris School of Mines, in whose honour 

 this the oldest hnown insect, has been named Palceohlattina Douvillei. 

 M. Brongniart states that the neuration of two species of Blattidce of 

 the Carboniferous period — Progonohlattina Fritschii (Heer) and Gera- 

 hlattina fascigera (Scudder)t — recalls, in a slight degree, that of this 

 Silurian wing which he describes as follows : — 



" Cette aile, qui mesure 0.035™ de long, a appartenu a un Blattide ; le champ 

 humeral est large ; on y Toit la veine humerale superieure, la veine humerale in- 

 ferieure qui ee bifurque h, son extremite ; la veine vitree ou mediane egalement 

 divisee en deux rameaux ; les veines discoidales superieure et inferieure et leurs 

 divisions tr^s obliques qui se rejoignent a leur extremite, ainsi que cela se voit en 

 core chez certaines Blattes de notre epoque ; on peut suivre la veine anale qui est 

 assez droite, et s'etend presque jusqu' au bout de I'aile, puis les veines axillaires qui 

 lui sont paralleles. Ce qui est fort remarquable et ce qui distingue cette 6mpreiute 

 de toutes les ailes de Blattes vivantes et fossiles, c'est la longueur de la nervure anale, 

 et le peu de lurgeur du champ axillaire." 



Although the fossil-wing above described is the only fragment of 

 an insect as yet obtained from rocks of Silurian age, the recent dis- 

 covery of an insectivorous animal — a fossil Scorpion — in Silurian rocks 

 furnishes additional evidence of the existence of insects at this period. 



This Scorpion,;}: which has been described by Dr. Lindstrom, and 

 named Palceoplionus nuncius, was obtained from the Upper Silurian of 

 the Island of G-otland, whereas the wing of the Blatta was, as before 

 stated, obtained from the Middle Silurian. This wing is, therefore,! 

 of even greater antiquity than the Scorpion, and consequently repre-: 

 sents, not only the oldest known insect, but the oldest knownP'' 

 terrestrial animal. 1*''^' 



Surbiton Hill : 



January l^th, 1885. 



* Comptes Rendus des Stances de I'Acad^mie des Sciences de Paris, No. 26, 29tli December! 

 1884. ' 



+ These Blattidce are referred to in my papers •'' On the Insecta of the Carboniferous Period, 

 pp. 169-173 of vol. XV of the Ent. Mo. Mag. (1878), and "The Insect Faima of the Primary oilj 

 Palaeozoic Period," in Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, vol. vi. No. 6 (1879). I 



X Comptes Rendus de I'Acad^mie des Sciences de Paris, p. 984, 1st December, 1884, ancj 

 Annals and Magazine of Natural History, January, 1885. 



